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The Benefits of a Staycation!
It seems that often these days, the stress of every day life during COVID, and the beautiful images we see on social media have us longing to get away from it all. But now that this is not an option, many of us are opting to explore places closer to home with a staycation.
But why should you ‘staycation’?
It’s a chance to consciously unplug.
Technology pulls on us every second. Think about it, do you sleep with your phone on our side table? It’s often the first thing we look at when we wake up and the last thing we check before we log off for the night. We are constantly connected– on the computer, on our phones, and now even when we’re working at home.
While it’s not always a bad thing to be connected, sometimes it’s nice to take time to consciously unplug. A staycation allows you to do this. You’re still home, you’re still local, you’re still accessible… but you’re also not. When you ‘vacation’, it’s easy to unplug– time spent away means you may not have as much signal, you may have a busy schedule that prevents you from connecting online– but a staycation is a lower-commitment way to disconnect yourself.
When you staycation, try to set yourself a technology limit. For example you could only Instagram a couple of photos during downtime, or just check emails and facebook when the kids are napping. By imposing these limits, try to lower your standard online time to less than 30 minutes each day– enough time to respond to important work and tackle commitments, but also enough to allow yourself time to disconnected from the web. While that’s not something everyone can do every day (as many jobs revolves around the internet) it is something you can make happen your staycations.
A staycation is a great way to say “I’m stepping away from the web to enjoy this time with my family.” Especially if you’re not staying at a hotel and choosing to stay at home for your staycation, it’s important to make it a clear, conscious commitment, not just a byproduct of being away.
It re-establishes bonds
Because many of us have been working from home due to COVID, it can be hard to separate work and home life easily. But this isn’t just something concerns work, how many times are you busy cleaning up the house, doing dishes, making dinner, paying bills, etc that you overlook taking our peaceful moments in the day?
While every single one of those things is necessary, taking a few days to just bond with your family is a great way to connect with each other. It means saying “All of these things can be done before or held off until after, because this time is my own time for these 3 days.” Whether you’re going camping, staycationing at a nearby hotel, or even just staying at home with board games and films, choosing to make that time fun time is a great way to re-establish bonds that get lost sometimes amidst bills, washing and work.
Take the time to do something mindful such as going for a walk with your partner or playing with lego with your children. When you set the worries and stress of everything that pulls your attention aside, you will be able to spend that time bonding.
It helps you find hidden gems near you.
Staycations are a time where things are more special than usual– which means you can’t always go back to the places you see on staycation, but it means those hidden gems you find and love are close enough for you to return more often than if you were in another country.
It means that if you absolutely love the food at a great restaurant you try on Staycation, you would be able to go back again soon. Search your local area for new places to visit such as museums, aquariums, parks and cafes to find new hidden gems.
It revives your love for where you live.
Many of us often take the places we live for granted. Whether you’ve lived somewhere forever or it just feels that way, a staycation is a great way to get in touch with where you live and remember all of those reasons that make you love and embrace where you’re at.
You get all of the fun of planning and enjoying a holiday, without the added expense of travel.
Staying somewhere close to home means that the money you’d usually spend on airlines or petrol can be spent on more valuable things, such as tickets or ‘souvenirs’, or even better it can be saved. If your excursions and activities are close enough to home, you can save even more by skipping the hotel. It’s a great way to have fun without spending as much money, which is perfect for the budget-conscious (or environment-conscious, too!)
There are a lot of great travel destinations out there which we all want to visit, and hopefully someday will. But as we are limited during COVID, if you feel you need some time away from everything, a staycation is a great way to do that. Whether you’re tight on budget, tight on time, or even fine in everything but just want the change of pace, a staycation is a great way to enjoy time away without truly being away. Staycations open a lot of possibilities and can be a really fun way to bond. Once you’ve tried it you may even plan to make them a regular event!
To read our blog post on how taking a break is good for productivity click here
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