Too many people deny themselves the joy, privilege, and all out wonderful experience that one gets from travel. And what reasons do people use to justify not incorporating travel into their life?
“I can’t take the time off of work. I’ll just travel when I retire.”
Why wait?! I don’t mean to get too dark here, but…what if you don’t make it to retirement age? Or what if that place you so desperately wanted to explore is no longer an option to explore? Think places destroyed by natural or even man-made disasters.
Kevin and I both work full-time. Actually, we work a bit more than full-time since we run two completely different businesses AND I work part time for someone else. Granted, self-employment has its obvious perks. After all, I’m not going to refuse my own vacation request, am I? But our businesses both rely heavily on us being present. And I still clock hours for an employer where I have to request dates off. So we still understand having to schedule travel around work obligations.
We average two international trips a year on top of multiple long weekend getaways. How do we manage to take multiple trips each year while working multiple jobs? The answer is simple…and it’s doesn’t involve luck. We made travel a priority in our lives. In fact, it was in our wedding vows…well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it was known before we legally committed to each other that we would be traveling the world! The key takeaway is, if YOU make travel a priority, then you’ll find the time for it.
Because we made it a priority in our life, we have worked hard to find ways to obtain what we wanted. Here are some tips for you to use to figure out how to make travel a bigger part of your life.
Aurora Borealis in Finland from a frozen lake
Negotiate Before Accepting Employment
If you know that you want to have more time to travel, then why not ask for it when negotiating new employment? Or, if you’re already employed and up for a raise, why not ask for more time off instead of extra pay? After all, a happy employee is a hard working employee!
Before accepting employment, you can also ask if you’ll be able to take unpaid time off. Unpaid time off has been a huge help for me to be able to travel. I’m always respectful of how much and when I request that time, though.
For example, if you know your work is slammed in April, then don’t ask for time off that month. Wait until a slower month. If you happen to work somewhere that requires you to work holidays, then be the employee that volunteers for holiday duty. Your employer will remember what a team player you are and be more open to granting unpaid time off requests. Speaking of holidays…
Plan Travel around Paid Holidays
This may seem like a no-brainer, but, if your employer closes up work for certain holidays or offers paid holidays, then use that to your advantage! Yes, holiday travel can be a bit more expensive, but sometimes it’s all you have to work with. While paid holidays can be great for shorter trips, you can also use them to cut down on use of paid time off for longer trips. So plan that week-long vacation over a holiday and only use four days of paid time off instead of five days.
Christmas market in Stockholm Sweden
Flex Those Days, Baby
If you’re employed in a field that allows you to flex your time, then do it! I typically work my part time gig Monday through Friday, but, if I need to, I can work a Sunday or Saturday in place of a weekday. This way, if I want to plan a four day weekend without using any paid time off, I can work the Sunday before and Saturday after to have Friday through Monday off.
Maximize Vacation Time
Maximize your vacation time by booking overnight flights. You can work a partial or even full day before jetting off on your adventure. This way, you won’t be wasting your first day of vacation time traveling to your destination.
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya in Thailand
Shorter Trips Can Be Amazing, Too
Travel doesn’t have to be to exotic, far off lands, and you don’t need a full week. If your time off only involves the weekend, then plan shorter trips. Sign up for flight deal notifications and take a cheap flight to a new city for 48 hours. Or take a road trip to a place you’ve never been to. You’d be surprised at how much fun and adventure you can get into within only a few hours from your home base.
Hotel Luna Mystica in El Prado, New Mexico
Ultimately, everyone needs a break every now and then. If you don’t believe me, then Google “health benefits of travel” and you’ll find links to several articles stating just how beneficial travel can be in your life. Don’t let “not having enough time” be an excuse for not taking the trip you’ve dreamed about.
