Plan your 2020 vacations now

Figuring out all your days off can boost your vacation happiness

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to plan all of next year's vacations now.
Doing so will give you a lot to look forward to,
and we'll help you make more holistic choices to maximize happiness.

(00:28):
A few weeks ago, my husband and I sat down
to map out our vacations. Neither of us has to
officially put in for vacation days at work, we both
have a great deal of control over our schedules. Nonetheless,
we decided that planning the year in one shot would
provide some real upsides. First, we could match up with

(00:49):
and optimize the school schedule. We'll have four school aged
children next year, and since our district only allows for
a few vacation related absences, we're pretty much tied to
that calendar. But the school calendar has some interesting quirks.
For instance, classes start after Labor Day, and Labor Day

(01:09):
is late enough in that the kids will still be
off for the entire first week of September, so we'd
be able to do a summer vacation at a time
that a lot of places are priced for Shoulder season. Likewise,
this year, we get an entire calendar week off after Christmas.
This means we can do a weekly rental somewhere post

(01:29):
Christmas without having to figure out how to ship gifts
and alert Santa to our new location. Second, planning all
of our vacations at once minimize as conflict. When we
plan each vacation individually, we run into family members differing
opinions about what makes a good trip. Some people like beaches,

(01:51):
some people like skiing, some like national parks, some like
amusement parks, some like cities with culture and history. When
we plan the whole year, more people can be accommodated,
So if an island trip wins out for spring Break,
the skiers aren't unhappy if they know they'll get their
time in December. Third, planning the whole year's vacations at

(02:13):
once allows you to be honest about your time and budget.
People's tendencies can actually go both ways. I'm pretty cheap
and I find it kind of hard to spend money,
so knowing the approximate tally for the whole year helps
me feel better about maybe going up a notch on
hotels for one of the vacations. I can see we're
still under the target, whereas someone who's a bit more

(02:35):
spendy might see that, oh well, if we want to
hit Europe in late summer spring break might need to
be a bit more local. This goes for time as well.
If I see that my vacations are paced roughly once
every three months, I can plan my work and energy
to accommodate that. Finally, planning ahead has logistical and psychological benefits.

(02:57):
In my case, we have learned the hard way that
getting six or seven seats together on direct flights to
the places we want to go can be challenging last minute. Likewise,
while you can get a hotel room for two to
three people at any point, places that accommodate a big
brood are harder to come by. Best to book ahead
of time, and when we do well. Some interesting research

(03:18):
finds that the bulk of the happiness associated with vacations
actually comes ahead of time. Many a dreary January commute
has been warmed by the sun of an island where
a resort is booked for May. The earlier you plan,
the more time you can spend anticipating your fun. So today,
take a few minutes to look at the calendar for

(03:40):
the upcoming year and figure out when you might like
to take your vacations. Think about what you might like
to do, then set aside some time to talk with
the people you normally vacation with about what they'd like
to do, what they'd like to see happen in you'll
likely emerge with a plan that will have you very
excited about the new year. In the meantime, this is Laura.

(04:03):
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast

(04:28):
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

(04:49):
more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows. YEA