Vacation days exist to keep you from burning out. Job burnout can have serious negative effects on your personal life, work, and health. If you don’t take the time to destress and get away from work, you might just find yourself feeling disillusioned about your job.
This is why it’s important that you periodically take a vacation to help you perform better. Not only does a vacation allow you to relax and spend time with your family, you might just have a new outlook on life when you get back to work.
But how often should you take a vacation to fully benefit from these effects? Keep reading to find out if you should book your next vacation ASAP.
How Often Should You Take a Vacation?
There isn’t really a wrong or right answer when it comes to how often you should take a vacation. Each person is different, and your specific circumstances determine how often you need to get away.
If you need a break and feel overwhelmed with your work, it’s best to take a vacation as soon as possible. If you’re comfortable with your current work-life balance and have a planned vacation, you should rather hoard your vacation days.
Generally, there are two main styles of vacations you need to consider:
- Long vacations
- Multiple vacations
While there are benefits to both, most people need a break at least once a year, so try to keep that in mind when you’re booking your next trip.
Long Vacation vs. Multiple Vacations
If you find it difficult to separate yourself from your work, a long vacation might work better for you. This gives you enough time to get into the vacation mindset while also leaving time to actually enjoy your vacation. This means you won’t have as many breaks throughout the year, but you can plan one long and elaborate family vacation to get away from the hustle and bustle.
Multiple short vacations are a great option if you just need a quick recharge or need a short break. This style of vacation usually doesn’t involve long flights or elaborate travel as you don’t want to waste your precious days sitting in a plane or car.
Oftentimes people who take multiple vacations a year actually spend it at home and plan day trips. This gives you more time to spend relaxing, and you get to sleep in your own bed at the end of the night.
If you plan well for your short vacations, you can take vacation days around an existing long weekend. This means you spend less of your vacation days and can spend more time away from work.
This is a good option for medium-distance trips as you can take some time to travel without losing all your vacation time. Camping, staying at an RV park, or visiting family are all great ways to spend these slightly longer vacations.
Take a Vacation
When you start questioning if you should take a vacation, chances are you’re actually overdue. You shouldn’t spend every day dreaming about the end of the day when you can finally go home; this is actually a big clue that you need some time away from the office. So don’t waste any more time and start looking at vacation ideas.
For inspiration, take a look at our travel section before you start vacation planning.
