Three Tips for Taking a Rejuvenating Vacation

It’s summer. Everyone needs a break. If you aren’t PCSing, you may be taking some much-needed time away—from the job search, from the job, from the everyday normal.

I think we all agree vacations should be fun and relaxing. We should return from them rejuvenated.
But too often, vacations leave us frazzled. We return more tired than when we left.
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Here are three ways to lessen the burdens that come along with a vacation in hopes of reaping the respite a vacation should provide. 

1. Save for and take a vacation you can afford. A month-long getaway to a remote island might be relaxing, but if you can’t afford it or will spend the next year working to pay it off, it’s not worth the financial stress it will cause. A vacation doesn’t need to be extravagant or expensive to bring joy. So, save for the vacation you want, but also take the vacation you can afford. And don’t forget to make use of discounts offered to military families to lessen the financial burden of those fun times.
2. Don’t over schedule your vacation. If your day-to-day life feels like it’s constant “go, go, go,” then the last thing you need is a vacation that is scheduled with plans from dawn ‘til dusk. Identify a few “must-do” activities, and then use your vacation to chill. Linger, lounge, and enjoy slowing down a bit.
3. Don’t aim for perfect. Perfect vacations—like perfect marriages, perfect jobs, and perfect duty stations—are a myth. They simply do not exist, and that’s ok. We all know there’s going to be traffic at some point, or our flights may be delayed. The hotel might not be as great as we hoped, or someone might get stung by a jellyfish. But if you can go with the flow, remember that you’re on vacation, and enjoy yourself despite the setbacks, you’ll come home more relaxed and with some “fun” memories.

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Here’s to a summer vacation that leaves you feeling rested and ready to return to your job search or job!
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