How To Make The Most Out Of A Short Holiday
Not every Australian can take more than a week at a time for holidays. With all the stresses we encounter in a busy lifestyle, it is, however, important to be able to take at least a week, four times a year. That’s what we, in the lucky country are entitled to, and that’s what should be a priority.
When you need to take a well-deserved break, however, and you can only schedule a week in, you need to make the absolute most out of it, to ensure you come back to work refreshed, and feeling like you actually did take a break.
More than often, coming back to work after a holiday can be just as stressful as not getting a holiday at all, so we’ve come up with a few tips to make sure your next short break is a good one. For many people, travel is a necessity, not a luxury, and this is exactly how it should be. Holidays don’t necessarily need to include an overseas trip every time. Traveling can be local, interstate or just somewhere you have never been but want to go. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, but you just have to manage your time to get the most out of it.
Here are some more great tips to get the most out of your time.
Plan Around Public Holidays
One of the best tips we can give, of course, is booking your holidays around public holidays. There is no better way to get an extra few days off (without coming out of your accrued holiday hours) than public holidays. And for 2019, the biggest tip you will get for the year is to take off the following three days in annual leave, to get 10 days holidays. 23/24/26 April are the magic days you need to take off to get a 10-day break at Easter. If you book flights for the 18th and return home to start back at work on the 29th, that’s one solid break, with plenty of your annual leave days still intact, allowing you to have another almost four weeks holidays later in the year.
For adventure-seeking people like yourselves, there may be a reason to book holidays at a specific time, like attending events, races, or fitting in some solid training time. So, when you make your holiday plans, be sure to factor in time before and after these planned events to ensure you feel rested or prepared beforehand, while also allowing time to recover if you need to after.
Plan Ahead
Once you have chosen your destination and worked out what dates you want to travel, book in your holidays with your employer. Lock it in as soon as possible, and that will give you a lot more time to prepare the journey. Planning a head can include finding the cheapest flights and booking around those dates. Once you have your dates locked in and flights booked, it will just be a matter of walking out of work, jumping on a plane.
Book Flights On Your Last Day Of Work, Not Your First Day Of Holidays
Booking a flight, the night of your last day of work will allow you to get an extra day in of relaxing, instead of spending your first day travelling. Although planning return flights might not be as simple to organise, try and book them as late as possible to get the most out of your last day. If you are travelling overseas, you need to make sure you leave time in case of delays.
Prioritise Activities
Create a list of your priorities during your holiday. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve is vital to any successful trip. If you are travelling solo, you can choose where and when you want to do things without thinking about anyone else, however, if travelling with a partner, friend or family or even with children, you need to work in your needs as well as everyone else’s. Marking the most important thing you want to do as the first thing will ensure you don’t come home disappointed because you ran out of money before you could get it done. Pre-booking activities that are expensive will ensure you carry them out.
Do What You Can To Sleep On Flights
If you’re not a good sleeper on flights or on buses or trains, purchase a few things to help you out before you leave. Some quality eye masks, good pillows and ear plugs that help you sleep are there simple things to buy that can make your travel sleep better.
Make An Itinerary
Make an itinerary of everything you want to do. Make sure you don’t overload it though, as that can turn a great holiday into an exhausting trip that you will regret. Factor in plenty of down time, where you have zero plans. Find a nice poolside bar, or a beach, hiking track or whatever it is that helps you to relax. Even if it is just an extended sleep in, you will thank yourself for it the following day, and for weeks to come.
Download Apps That Can Assist You With The Local Area You Are Travelling To
There are a million apps for travellers. Find some before you leave to find local attractions, local amenities, bars and restaurants, gyms, or whatever it is you seek when you holiday. It will save you a whole lot of time searching through local areas.
Take The Road Less-Travelled
Taking some time out away from tourist crowds will make sure you find something that not everyone sees. Hire a boutique guide in the area, and they should help you to find some hidden gems that are not a standard tourism destination. There isn’t a person who has ever holidayed before that loves standing in a line for 90 minutes to see a painting, and when you get a chance to see something not everyone gets to see, it makes your holiday all the more worth it.
Taking holidays is your best way to revitalise. Holidaying is crucial for a healthy state of mind. It is crucial to be able to perform your job to the expectations of your employer, and it is crucial to experience new things and create new goals in your life. Make the most out of every holiday, and you will set new standards for all your holidays in the future.
