Making The Most Of Your Vacation At Home

Spending your vacation at home this year? A “staycation” is the buzzword to describe this type of stay-at-home vacation. It can be a lot of fun to explore your hometown from a tourist’s vantage point. With gas prices being elevated, it can make financial sense too.

There is one danger with staycations— it’s really easy to get caught up in chores, errands, and the multitude of items that litter a to-do list without ever really taking the time to step away for some rest and relaxation. This danger is noticeable when you hear a colleague discuss their time away with the phrase, “Oh, it was okay. I got some things done around the house.” That is a fine answer if you were planning a “stay-at-home chore week” and not so great if you were hoping for some more fun!

Compare a vacation at a hotel with a vacation at home… if you are staying at a hotel, your room magically gets cleaned each day, you select dinner entrees from the restaurant menu, and you can’t do that lingering chore because you’re not at home. Hotels really cater to those wanting relaxation. The secret for you, then, is to know how to stop chores from overtaking an at-home vacation so that you can enjoy all of the fun that you desire without having to stay at a hotel.

Tips to Making a Staycation Fun:

* Enlist a "Stay-Away-From-Chores Buddy"- Share with your partner, friend, or children that you plan to relax during this staycation and that you need their help to remind you if they see you getting pulled into the daily grind. Have them make-up a silly phrase with you they can say to you as a reminder. "Bug-a-boo" might be just the thing to bring you back to the fun!
* Decide ahead of time what mini-chores, if any, you are willing to complete during the vacation. Will you eat tasty meals at home and doing the associated dishes or will you be going out? Will you stay away from all laundry or do you want to plan to do two loads of laundry mid-week? Make a solid commitment to yourself so that you are acting from a center of thoughtfulness instead of out of habit.
* Get out of the house. Having fun things to do around town each day gets you motivation and engaged in your time off. If you’ve promised to include someone else in the fun, it holds you even more accountable to show up at the activity. Ultimately, you’ll want to limit the temptation do to "one more thing" while your at home.

Making your "staycation" a real "vacation" is up to you. You’ll need to make a mindful choice on how you wish to spend your time. You may find jumping into a few chores tempting, although with a bit of planning, you can resist the urge and choose something more fun and memorable instead.