Only the rich get the luxury of taking long holidays abruptly. For most 9 to 5’ers (who really work longer than 9 to 5, not that I am venting) who have been allocated a 20 day or so holiday quota by their employer, they have to be really smart with the time allocated to them. We can not afford to take time for granted because frankly we don’t have much of it. So here I am to the rescue with 5 quick and free ways to maximise short vacations!
1. TRAVEL CLOSE
I made this mistake. I assumed that a holiday was only a holiday when I flew to a destination only at least 5 hours away. A vacation break can be an hour flight away or even a 30 mins drive away. Look for destinations close to home, rather than those so far away. There are unexpected gems to be found closer at home if we look hard enough. There is no point spending all your travel time on a plane (that may be delayed and thus even prolong you travel time even further). Flight delays are something we see on this side of the world (i.e. Nigeria) more often than not.
2. DITCH THE LUGGAGE
I am always of the fear that the airline will lose my check-in luggage so once a while I try to travel with only a hand luggage. This saves a good amount of time as you can arrive at the airport much later and be the first to leave the airport at arrival. Wouldn’t you prefer to spend more time relaxing than battling and sweating for your luggage??
3. TRAVEL WITHOUT FRIENDS aka SOLO TRAVEL
Truth is some friends have their own agendas when they travel and their agenda can mess with yours. If your travel partner decides to sleep-in that extra two hours on your “SHORT” vacation, that is two hours you will not get back especially if you’re working on a schedule.
4. PLAN WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE AND WHEN
I am always so perplexed when people tell me they went on vacation but failed to see some important sites. Their excuse is that they had no time. Did you actually plan beforehand all the things you planned on doing or did you expect to by chance, stumble upon them? Greatness was never stumbled upon, it was always planned in advance 🙂
5. STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA
We all spend way too much time on social media when we really should be absorbing the world around us #GuiltyAsCharged. The amount of time is spend on social media is time we could be using to unwind, relax and enjoy life.
What do you think about my 5 SIMPLE and FREE (we all love free lol) ways to maximise time on short breaks? Share with me other ways you’ve gained time during those short vacations.
I actually never had short vacations. Always at least 1 month but trying to take shorts ones now. You know, with work life and all ( Boring ) , I have probably will have to manage vacations (hopefully, never) . I think these are great tips for short vacations 🙂 !!
Gosh, I think you were living the good life (one month vacations is probably everyone’s dream). Glad you enjoyed the tips and hopefully you can put them in practice soon. Thank you for your comment!