With summer coming to an end soon, you may be wondering where the time went! Whether you had an opportunity (or the budget) to take a destination vacation or not, it doesn’t have to mean the fun is over. You can easily plan a relaxing and wallet-friendly “staycation.” Staycations are when you take the time to purposely unwind and spend time at home and in your community. Try these tips to help you plan the perfect staycation.
Designate the time. Similar to how you would allot time for traveling, block off a weekend, long weekend or even a week for your staycation. Request off from work; inform family members, friends and neighbors, just as you would if you were traveling to a different locale.
Do your chores ahead of time. Set up automatic payments for bills and take care of any other responsibilities that you would normally attend to before vacation. This way you can solely focus on the staycation even through you’re at home.
Create an itinerary. Decided how you would like to spend your time. Maybe there is a local park you’ve wanted to explore, a museum or store you just haven’t had a chance to get to yet, or a new movie you’ve been anxious to see. Whatever you choose, make sure it is fun, makes you happy, and is something outside of your day-to-day routine.
Plan your meals. Choose restaurants you may want to eat in or take out from outside of the normal places you may go. Or if you want to spend part of your staycation whipping up some new recipes, grocery shop ahead of time so you don’t have to spend your staycation at the store!
Choose–and plan for–your downtime activities. Are you planning to binge-read, catch up on your favorite TV series, or watch the movies you’ve missed through the year? Stock up on the essentials to ensure that you have plenty to keep you occupied in your downtime.
Disconnect. Turn off phone notifications and take your time responding to any non-crucial texts, phone calls and emails—just as you would if you were away from home.
Create a playlist. Select music that will help you get into vacation mode. Play it frequently to keep up the relaxing vibes.
Have fun, rest, relax and unwind—the most important part of any vacation!
For Health Advocate members
If you’re Health Advocate member with access to the wellness coaching component of our Wellness Program, contact a Wellness Coach for more great tips to help you improve your well-being!
