I seem to always be wanting to get away somewhere, I have to constantly remind myself, “work hard, play hard” and that I actually have to work to be able play. I feel like my mind is in a constant state of vacation envy. I’m sure living in Florida probably doesn’t help, all I have to do is drive down A1A and I find myself pining over the thought of a tropical get away. Studies are showing that people have been taking less and less vacations, since the 1970’s the amount of Americans taking a yearly vacation has dropped nearly 30 percent! The studies are also showing that this has negative influence over work productivity and even your health! That is why daycations are my favorite thing. Ever.
What is a daycation? Well, let me tell you, a daycation is basically magic. It’s like a vacation, but it only lasts for a day! You get just far enough out of town that you’re surrounded by things outside the norm, it’s not a terrible drive to make there and back, and you take the day to relax and do something you love! For me it is usually at a beach somewhere. Living in central Florida I live in an ideal place to daycation. I am 1-3 hours from Orlando, Daytona, Miami, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Key Largo, Tampa, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and that’s only naming a few. Obviously the types of daycations you can take will vary depending on where you live, but there are always options. If you’re not sure of what’s near you check out trip advisor and search your surrounding cities and see what the most popular things to do are. There’s an app I love called Trover which allows you to search for a city and gives you results of cool places other people have discovered in that area with the exact pinned GPS location so you can use the navigation on your phone to get to that spot. You also can post your discoveries so other people can take advantage of them as well! Their self-described mission is, “To expose beauty and wonder in the world.” (www.trover.com)
Daycations are affordable. There are no plane tickets involved, you can bring your own food if you want to, and you don’t have to do something that costs anything to do. All you need is a little gas money, which for me is probably cheaper than an impromptu trip to the mall after a bad day. One of my personal favorite daycation spots is Peanut Island in West Palm, I already have my snorkeling gear, so all I have to pay for is gas, food, and a $10 water taxi ride to the island. I drive not even two hours, and I go from the not so clear (but still beautiful) Melbourne beach to an island surrounded by the clear blue waters of west palm filled with tropical fish and vacation bliss!
Taking a daycation is simply using the day off you already have and pretending you’re on vacation. You get just outside of the realms of familiarity so you feel like you’ve escaped the typical day-to-day routine, you relax, and do something you love. Get outside, appreciate nature, and maybe even learn to love where you live a little bit more. I personally have been working on looking at where I live with the perspective of someone who is visiting which is the perfect way to find fun daycation spots near home! Go alone and get away, or grab a few friends and have some fun adventuring together somewhere new! Do your health, and your boss a favor, and take a daycation. Do you already take daycations? If so let me know your favorite spots so I can try them out too!