Incoming waves wash away footprints left by visitors in the sand along a beach on Sylt Island near … More Wenningstedt, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup)
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As July 4th approaches, many employees are getting ready for a vacation. While some longingly anticipate some time off, for others, the thought of vacation induces stress. Health and well-being take a significant hit one to two weeks before a vacation, as shown by research published by Jeroen Nawijn, tourism researcher at Breda University, and Professors Jessica de Bloom, University of Groningen, and Sabine Geurts, Radboud University. The reason? Employees try to finish extra work before they leave, and are busier at home getting ready to go.
Vacations are designed to provide employees with a much-needed break from the busyness of work. But if we feel more stressed before we even arrive at our destination, what is the point? There is clear evidence that individuals who vacation more frequently tend to have better health. One study, published in Psychosomatic Medicine, even shows that those at risk for cardiovascular disease can reduce this risk by taking frequent vacations each year.
The question is thus not whether you should take a vacation, but how you vacation most effectively. Previously, I advised taking frequent but short vacations if you are worried about work piling up. You can also plan a vacation closer to home, or at home, if you dread long travel queues. There are many more ways to design smarter vacations to avoid stress and enjoy your vacation. In her book “You Need a (Better) Vacation”, Jennica Day, vacation expert and consultant, lays out evidence-based principles of designing vacations that lower stress and increase happiness.
Design a Vacation for You, Not for Your Followers
To design a good vacation, you need to know yourself. You are the one taking the vacation, so the only leading question should be what you (and any travel companions) enjoy most. “You Need a (Better) Vacation” includes exercises to match your personality with certain types of vacations. For instance, if you are extroverted, seeking vacations to mingle with others will give you energy. Introverts, on the other hand, might be happier when they build in enough me-time to decompress.
Current stress levels can also guide vacation designs. Adventures that require extended travel and include intense experiences can certainly help you forget about work. But if your body battery is empty, a more relaxing vacation at a quiet destination might be what you need to recharge.
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Jennica Day warns against designing vacations that are inspired by others, whether it’s friends you admire or famous influencers. “Humans tend to compare themselves and do what others do to fit in. But if you end up at a tropical party island because that’s where Beyonce and Jay Z vacation while you hate crowds, you missed an opportunity for a vacation that makes you happy.”
Plan Fun Events at the Right Time
Humans tend to evaluate and remember experiences based on two components: The most significant event and the end of the experience. This rule is also known as the peak-end rule in psychology and has received compelling scientific support. For instance, when asked to recall a recent work meeting, what stands out might be a clever, hilarious, or dumb comment from a coworker (peak), and the triumphant, jovial, or tense atmosphere when the meeting wrapped up (end).
You can use this rule to your advantage when you plan a vacation. Instead of cramming each vacation day with special events, it’s better to plan one peak experience and a fun event to wrap up your vacation. These will be the events that you carry with you when you reminisce about your vacation, so they are worth preparing. The peak-end rule also prevents you from overplanning your vacation, making it look more like a workday with a to-do list, rather than time to relax and being open to what comes your way.
Avoid Endless Research for the Perfect Vacation
It is tempting to spend weeks hunting for the right flight price. Or lose yourself in hours of reading reviews to find the perfect accommodation. If you genuinely enjoy price hunting and review reading, this makes sense. However, for most people, buying flights and booking accommodations is not enjoyable. Constantly questioning if you got the best deal or if there might be something better out there raises stress levels. Minimizing the time spent planning, researching, and booking your vacation limits this type of stress.
Jennica Day applies a project management approach to vacation planning and advocates for timeboxing. It is founded on the principle that people take as much time to complete a task as you give them. For instance, if you schedule a two-hour meeting to discuss an item, you likely will use up both hours. It is smarter to schedule one hour to keep everyone on point and schedule a new meeting for unresolved issues. The same logic applies to vacation planning. Start with ten minutes to outline the bare essentials of your vacation (e.g., destination, dates). Then, allow yourself one hour to plan more details, such as flights, accommodations, and peak experiences. Schedule a new time for any unfinished vacation plans.
Reflect and Adjust Your Vacation Design
Not all vacations are equally fun. Jessica de Bloom, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology at the University of Groningen, and her research team followed approximately 100 workers over seven weeks, asking them about their health, mood, and energy levels before, during, and after a vacation. Twenty-three percent of vacationers did not feel better after their vacation, and 17 percent felt worse. There is thus room for improvement when it comes to vacationing. A good starting point is to learn from past mistakes.
In “You Need a (Better) Vacation,” Jennica Day recommends scheduling time upon return to reflect on what went well and what went wrong during your trip. Writing down what you enjoyed most and what you found stressful can give clear cues for your next vacation design. “If the jet lag made you too tired to enjoy your vacation, maybe the next vacation should be in the same time zone, or at home”. She is also a fan of keeping things simple. “If you had an amazing vacation, why not go there again next year? You know what to expect, reducing stress and making more space for enjoyment.”
With the correct planning, vacations can have even more benefits than they already have. The key is to know yourself and schedule a vacation that fits you, not to overthink (and over-plan) things, and learn from your mistakes. With those tips in mind, this might become the most relaxing vacation season yet.
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