How to Vacation Without Leaving Home

What a weird concept! How can we possibly have a vacation without leaving home? One of the motivations for taking a vacation is to experience some form of escapism, foreignness, and yes, even homesickness! But going through a profoundly disturbing period on a global scale right now we need to adjust our vacation expectations. Let’s see how we can vacation without leaving home.

Importance of vacation

First, let’s focus on the importance of taking time off. The benefits for overall health must not be ignored. We have worked so hard throughout the year to finally earn the right to some time off. A vacation is a perfect moment to recharge. Vacation is crucial to achieving work/life balance. A vacation is good for reducing stress. Vacation helps prevent heart disease and high blood pressure. Vacation helps with better quality sleep. When vacation will end, we will look forward to going back to work as we will feel less stressed, more productive, focused, and full of energy. Simply put, vacation makes for a happier life. We emphasize on being aware of why vacation matters because it will be easier to get us to a…

Vacation mindset

Granted, we live in stressful times and our minds can easily get lost in so many worries by watching the news or thinking about the heavy workload and projects due at work and the many responsibilities we have and problems we have yet to solve. Which makes vacation all the more relevant.

With the ubiquity and overwhelming deluge of information that enter our lives, think about ways to shut these channels down, at least temporarily for the sake of our sanity. Could you maybe not turn your TV to news channels? Or suspend newsletter subscriptions from your inbox, or change notification settings and turn off news alerts? If you are a list person, in preparation for your vacation, it might help to write down all the reasons why you need and want, and deserve some vacation and refer back to it as needed. List also all the positive things you want to see happen during vacation.

What are your staycation expectations? What feelings would you like to have while on vacation? Excitement? Fun? Tranquility? Peacefulness? What activities would help make you feel that way? Who would you like to spend your vacation with? What would be the rhythm of your vacation at home? Do you prefer your vacation fully packed with activities with zero time to breathe? Do you prefer tapping into your more impulsive self and figuring things out as you go? These questions are there to help you get a better picture of what your vacation will look like and become open to the idea of vacation at home and embrace it. Finally! You are in the perfect mood for vacation time!

Setting the stage for home vacation

Now that you are feeling it, the last thing to do is to make sure your home is vacation friendly! What is a home vacation to you and what needs to be done so that your home could fit that idea? Do you need a little cleaning up? A few decorations? Some color? Some music? A clear area to dance? How about making it look like a cottage as if you are staying near a lake? Or a giant poster of the Eiffel Tower or other themes to get you ready for fun? How about renting an RV? How about purchasing a home spray specifically used during your time off so your home smells like a vacation? Or selecting outfits to wear only on your vacation? The idea is to create something different using your senses to detach yourself from the work routine you are used to the rest of the year.

Enjoy!

You are now ready to vacation without leaving home like a pro! Have a nap as you’ve never had! Have that second serving for dinner! Eat chocolate! Video chat all night long with that friend from a different time zone you rarely get the chance to catch up with! Binge on that Netflix series coworkers keeps talking about! Finally, go ahead with that front yard landscaping project you’ve been meaning to start! Delve into that thriller book! Take a hike! Sip that Mai Tai! Sunbathe! Play frisbee with your puppy! Have a family and friends jam session! Arrange for a barbecue cook-off with your neighbors! Cycle through a cornfield! Get lost in it! Camp on your porch!

Have a yard sale! Sleep in! Set up a trampoline and learn to do a backflip! Try a TikTok dance move! Have a massage! Notice the present moment as it unfolds. See how you laugh and smile more! Take comfort in knowing that you can have a vacation anywhere and that vacation starts in your mind!

Shirley Tran

Shirley is a Vacation Tracker occasional contributor. She’s held a few positions in communications, marketing and copywriting. When she’s not at her laptop, you can find her daydreaming about her laptop and chasing the sun while people watching.