Home
>
Vacation Rental
>
Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vacations

Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vacations

This may seem like a very strange title for an article. After all, a vacation is supposed to be? a vacation. The title seems to imply that we should strive to make our vacation, somehow strategic or productive. In a way, that is what I am suggesting, but maybe not in the anal-retentive way you might have first guessed.

I write this during a week of my vacation, because I have a weekly writing quota so I don't disappoint my loyal newsletter readers. I could have run a repeat article, or I could have written the article before I left, but since I had already decided to write something about vacations, and because I do like to write, I decided it might be best to write about vacations while on vacation.

Vacations are important to our mental, physical and emotional health. They provide us a chance to relax, change our perspective and reconnect with parts of ourselves that we might misplace during the daily routine. Some people travel great distances, others stay closer to home. Some like to relax on the beach and others choose more active, scheduled vacations. This article isn't about those choices ? you know what type of vacation works best for you. Rather, this article is meant to help you enjoy and benefit more from the vacation, regardless of where you go, or what you do.

Think about how you got there. Most people spend a huge amount of time thinking about, planning, and preparing for their vacations. And they get a tremendous amount of work done in the few days (hours?) before they leave. In other words, when it comes to vacations we are all good project planners and time managers. This experience of planning and preparing is the first lesson we can take from our vacation. While you are on vacation reflect on how productive you were in the days leading up to your departure. You will find lessons you can apply on other days to help you be more productive ? and therefore give you more time during your regular life for leisure and relaxation.

Start when you leave. I have heard people say things like, "I need a two week vacation, because it takes me 4 or 5 days to start enjoying the vacation." To this sentiment, I simply ask "Why?". Resolve that when you are on vacation, you are there. Don't tell yourself it will take 2 days or 1 day to "get relaxed." Relax already!

Immerse yourself. Whether you are sitting on the beach, on a tour bus or walking through a local shopping bazaar, be there. Experience the things around you. Be in the present moment. Even if things aren't going like you planned, if the water is cold or it is raining, be where you are. Vacations are huge anticipation machines. We build them up in our minds until there is almost no way the real thing can compete with the image. Immerse yourself in what it is. Be present and enjoy it, regardless of what happens.

Recharge. Academic institutions have known for a long time the value in spending time in a new situation. That is why sabbaticals are a part of the lives of faculty members in much of the world. Sabbaticals are, in some ways, like long vacations. A vacation puts us in a new environment, changes our routine, and gives us a chance to recharge our batteries. This quote from the book I read on this vacation states it better than I can:

"You have to think more like a fish than a man and look for the slack tides and the pools and eddies in life so you can catch your breath and reflect on the good moments."

- Jimmy Buffett in A Salty Piece of Land

Learn Something. No this isn't like homework; I'm not suggesting you send me a report on "What You Learned on Your Summer Vacation." But I am serious about learning something. Learn something in a museum. Learn something from the local people or customs. Learn something about the tides. Learn something from someone in the seat next to you on your flight. As humans we are most alive when we are learning, and vacations should be no exception.

Make memories. Vacations are a wonderful way to expand our experiences and to create memories. New memories will enrich our lives both now and in the future. They also serve as the spawning ground for new ideas and insights that we may benefit from in all areas of our lives. After you make the memories, capture them. Record the events in your journal, purchase postcards, take pictures. These activities will help preserve those precious memories.

Take them. If you stay at work without vacationing because you are "indispensable, but are never fresh and always burned out, what have you gained? Besides that, research says that people that take vacations live longer than those who don't. I don't think I can make a more compelling argument than that.

If you have already taken a vacation in recent months, think back on it and see how many of my suggestions you followed. If you have an upcoming vacation, I encourage you to consider my ideas, and apply at least one or two of them to that vacation.

All of these suggestions will help make your vacation more valuable, more entertaining and more fun. Plus, the vacation itself will help you live longer.

Have fun!

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://kevineikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://kevineikenberry.com or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Airbnb cleaning service Highland Park ..

In The News:

Is your old PC a security risk? Find out how to protect it or give it a new life with Linux, turning it into a media server or backup station.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Epic Games' new voice-interactive Fortnite character uses Google's Gemini AI to recreate James Earl Jones' iconic voice for the first time in-game.

Robots like Chery's Mornine are transforming car dealerships, offering multilingual support, showroom tours and a glimpse into the future of retail.

Discover how to reclaim valuable space on your PC by deleting unnecessary files, using cloud storage and enabling Windows Storage Sense.

Learn how to troubleshoot disappearing emails on iPhone and Android devices. Find out the reasons behind this issue and how to prevent it from happening again.

Kurt the CyberGuy explores how hackers exploit data broker files to access personal information and explains services available to protect your privacy.

Slate Truck, which is backed by Jeff Bezos, is priced at $20,000 after federal EV incentives, a concept some would consider radical and even inconceivable.

The CyberGuy has advice to protect information from cybercriminals who are finding new ways to gain login credentials and full control of computers and bank accounts.

Mirokaï the humanoid robot turns ordinary moments into memorable ones with advanced artificial intelligence, storytelling and a dash of charm.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reports on how a MacReaper campaign infected 2,800-plus websites, spreading malware to Apple Macs.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says the Ability Hand brings real touch, natural movement and unmatched durability.

Hackers can steal money while showing a fake balance. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you learn how to protect yourself.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says AT² Aerospace’s Z1 hybrid airship uses helium lift, low fuel, no runways.

There are a variety of text message formats. Knowing the difference can save you money, improve message delivery and ensure you’re using the full potential of your messaging app.

Petco Love Lost, a free, innovative platform that uses AI-powered photo matching to reunite lost pets with their families, helped a man find his lost dog.

The CyberGuy advises how to protect yourself against SIM swapping, a form of identity theft by which a scammer tricks a mobile carrier into transferring a phone number.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Robeauté’s microrobot, which is the size of a grain of rice, could change the way doctors treat brain tumors and neurological conditions and make procedures safer.

Kurt the CyberGuy walks through the steps for fixing photos that appear blurry or compressed when they are sent from an iPhone to an Android phone.

Kurt the CyberGuy offers some easy fixes if you're struggling with Windows 11. PC users have reported slow performance, Wi-Fi problems and other issues.

In response to infostealer activity increasing 500% in a year and harvesting 1.7 billion user credentials, the CyberGuy offers four ways to stay safe from infostealer malware.

Looking Glass has developed a 27-inch light-field display that allows you to see digital objects in three dimensions without headsets or glasses.

A CCTV video purportedly originating from a Chinese factory shows a robot appearing to lash out at two men in an unexplained incident.

After years of delays, travelers must now show a REAL ID, a valid passport or another federally approved ID to travel. May 7, 2025, is the deadline.

Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vacations

Vacation Rental