The Travel Bug - The Only Bug You Need to Catch

In pre-COVID days, Americans knew they wanted to take vacations more often than they could or should get.

Now, after almost a year of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns, many of us are desperate for vacations. To get away to somewhere fun, warm and picturesque will be many Americans’ first priority when we’re out of this pandemic.

But what lies deeper beneath the surface of this desire is the fact that taking a vacation is actually an important positive thing you should do for yourself.

Rest + Relaxation = Better Health

It’s a simple and logical equation, but not based on any real mathematics at all. Going on a well-earned vacation away is a great opportunity to physically distance yourself from common and work related stress factors in your day-to-day life.

The total environmental change is important for your brain to recognize the signals that it needs to start relaxing. The fact that you won’t be bound by schedules and deadlines dictated by someone or something else will only further increase your relaxation.

This mental disconnection from stress factors, combined with the well known benefits of rest and relaxation will only help improve your health in both the short and long term.

Productivity Improvements

Just because Americans tend to work longer hours in comparison to other countries, it does not necessary lead to better productivity. Any good business leader will tell you that time and productivity don’t always go hand in hand.

How time is utilized or maximized is far more important than just the amount of it. It has been proven that regular vacation time and holiday breaks taken by employees has far greater benefits long term for their productivity.

There is a mental goal in mind for them to reach, in terms of the holiday itself but also that feeling of being ‘refreshed’ when they come back into the office. The feelings of positivity and optimism that come with vacationing are normally transferred back into the workspace – at least for a short time!

Creativity and Inspiration

Vacations in a different location or involving a different culture are eye opening life experiences we all should try, at least once. You may have rolled your eyes more than once though when hearing a co-worker’s gushing tale of a recent getaway being ‘inspirational’.

But, it’s important to realize for that person, it was. Co-workers cynicism (or jealousy) aside, if that recently returned worker genuinely feels inspired, more positive and enlightened by the things they experienced and saw on their travels, then that can only benefit everyone. New perspectives and ideas will emerge from these positive feelings and associations and everyone stands to benefit from them.

So there you have it. Get online and start booking your getaway now!

Now of course this might not be a realistic possibility for many of us, but there really aren’t many reasons not to regularly schedule vacations. While the current global situation may not be conducive to do that right now, it’s an important thing to consider and plan for once the world starts to resemble the type of normal we used to know and enjoy.