Take a Break: Plan a Staycation

When the budget doesn’t allow for a vacation, or you don’t want to spend hours looking for the best deals on airfares and hotels, consider the “staycation,”-vacationing at home.

For some people, the intensity of travel alone ruins various aspects of the vacation. The goal of time away is that you come back refreshed and not in need of additional time off to recover. While there are unique features to your get away spot, what are those things that you do on vacation that recharge you? Is it possible to incorporate them into a staycation? Ideas to consider include:

• Turn off the electronics. Set the automatic reply message to “away, will be back on ___.” No one needs to know you’re around. In fact, if people know your vacationing at home, they may not take you serious and call with work issues. Ideally, turn off the phone and cell phone. If you were on a sailing trip in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, shooting rapids on the Colorado, hiking in Yosemite, or swimming in the Atlantic, you wouldn’t be dealing with phone calls.

Since so many people can’t bear to be away from their computer or cell phone, try to minimize listening to messages or reading e-mail to once a day.

• Leave work at work. You’re on vacation.

• One of the joys of being away is food-trying new eateries and cuisines, cooking with family and friends, trying new recipes. All are possible in your own kitchen and community.

• Sleep in. Stay up late. Try sleeping in a different room or even pitch a tent outside.

• Read a good book, watch a movie, and sit for hours over the kitchen table talking with your family and/or friend(s), play board games

• Do what you want to do.

• Have a PJ day, where you don’t bother to get out of your pajamas.

• Throw a spontaneous cocktail or dinner party. Have a picnic.

• Fly a kite.

• Pretend you are a visitor in your own community. Visit such places as:
- local museum(s)
- farmer’s market, county fair
- historic sites
- amusement park
- someplace with water-beach, pond, lake or if all else fails, local swimming pool
- parks
- science center
- sports arena or stadium
- zoo

Check newspapers and on-line information about your town for more staycation ideas and to take advantage of “specials.”

• You can also do things like watch the birds, go for a self-guided walking tour of your town, take a drive, or bike ride

• Learn something new. Take a class in something that’s of interest, be it golf or a jewelry making course at a craft school. You can always check the weekly “take a break” features of this blog for something new to try.

Since you are saving money by not going away, don’t hesitate to treat yourself to some special treats, such as enjoying a spa day, arranging for someone to clean your house, dinner out, spending a night in a local luxury inn or resort, going to a sporting event etc.

Your staycation is not the time to clean out drawers, paint the house or do some other chore you are putting off, unless you find this a very relaxing activity.

Finally, since this is a blog for those with chronic conditions, whether it’s a staycation or vacation, taking a “drug holiday” isn’t recommended unless you’ve discussed it with your medical provider.