Hi, friends! If you follow me on IG, you saw that the Sinhas were in London, England for spring break! SO MANY of you are going this summer so I couldn’t wait to get this together to help you all!
London was amazing. I think mostly because the transition is so easy: no language barrier, easy transportation, Apple pay everywhere.
In this blog, I am going to review FIVE helpful tips when traveling with your family to ensure you all have a wonderful time and avoid burnout. The WORST is when you need a vacation from your vacation.
Tips Number 1:
Avoid these things:
- Over-scheduling. Leave some free days.
- Not aligning your travel activities with your personal interests and values. No keeping up with the Jones’s.
- Not prioritizing sleep, rest, movement, relatively healthy nutrition. Keep close to your routine.
- Focusing on quantity versus quality.
Now to planning: the first tip starts before you even leave your house! The key to avoiding travel burnout starts with setting intentions for your trip.
Before you even pick a destination check in with yourself –
“What do I want to achieve from this travel experience?”
Your goals could range from relaxation to adventure to personal growth to professional networking to seeing/doing all the things. Whatever it may be, having a clear purpose, can help you tailor activities and schedule.
For London our intentions were:
- Quality time with each other
- Learn
- Explore the city/wander
- Unplug as much we can
- Shop
- 1-2 flex days
Tip number 2:
Write down your ONE checkbox for the trip. This is especially helpful if you are traveling with family! The rules for these checkboxes: They had to be within normal financial means, safe, and doable for the entire family. That way every family member has the same goal and it becomes like a fun scavenger hunt for everyone.
For this trip:
- Gia’s checkbox was to try British chocolate. We didn’t search for it beforehand but while wandering around saw Barnaby’s Chocolate shop! A quick google search later and all of us were inside ordering their phenomenal chocolate bars.
- Sanjay’s checkbox was to do sunrise photography of the iconic London bridge. Now that doesn’t sound like a family activity, but we had to accommodate that schedule so he can sleep in after waking up at the crack of dawn! Also, we all get to enjoy the framed print memory later!
- My checkbox was to explore. Literally wander around. Run into shops, parks, eats, London offered that on a silver platter.
Tip number 3:
This is two fold – Set low expectations and allow for flexibility.
Ok, is this you? You are at work, you are tired, life is lifin’… and you just happen to open up instagram. The first video that pops up is of someone traveling to a beautiful destination. They are posting peaceful photos and videos with dreamy music in the background. Then you say thing to yourself, “Damn… I need that. I can’t wait until our vacation next month.”
I want you think about what’s happening here: You are romanticizing over someone else’s social media highlights! Now your expectations for your upcoming are even skewed. Traveling is not smooth. More now that ever, flying is stressful with unexpected delays, planes breaking down, asshole passengers, and burnt out employees. Don’t expect perfection. This is just a general life lesson! Everybody has issues. And because we are not expecting perfection AND we’d like to meet our set intentions and checkboxes, it is imperative to build in time and set our expectations appropriately to allow for those travel blunders that WILL HAPPEN. Be smart about. Plan for it: Get travel insurance, build in breaks, set reasonable flying times, allow for rest and downtime. Preplan that shit so you don’t feel like shit.
For London, we kept 2 days free and otherwise planned a maximum of 2 reservations per day (that included restaurant reservations, tours, ticketed entrances, etc). It allowed for travel time since London was HUGE with lots of traffic! We stayed flexible between walking, taking the trains, taxis, and Ubers.
Tip number 4:
Stick to your routine. How many times do you say to yourself –
“MEH. I’m on vacation… I’ll have that 3rd or fourth drink.”
“Meh, I’m on vacation, I deserve to NOT exercise.”
“Meh, I’m on vacation – I’m gonna eat 5 desserts a day.”
I’ve been there. And, all of the sudden, your vaca outfits don’t look so great, you don’t feel great. Feeling sluggish, hungover, bloated… and then returning home juuuuust like that. Listen, it doesn’t have to be ALL OR NOTHING. Let go of that mindset. The true meaning of vacation is to take a break from the usual demands of everyday life, to relax, rejuvenate, experience new things, explore, and make core memories. While it’s important to enjoy and indulge during a vacation, remembering the core purposes of rest, renewal, and enjoyment. You can STILL fulfill that by maintaining a semi flexible and balanced approach to nutrition, sleep, and exercise.
For our London trip – we moved. Daily. Walked a minimum of 15K steps a day. I didn’t lift at the gym (I planned it as a default but didn’t build it into my schedule) but the walking helped with digestion. I also ate with the mindset of not needing “to eat it all.” We were mindful of portion sizes, sharing, checking in with ourselves. I had my Metamucil fiber packets with water every morning, protein powder 7/9 days, took my magnesium to help regulate sleep, and hydrated A LOT. Again, while it wasn’t perfect – which isn’t the expectation…. I did feel good.
Tip number 5:
When planning your flight back, reserve an extra day (or two) to unwind and unpack. This has been a GAME CHANGER for us. Look if you are the type of person who lands from their trip at 11pm and goes directly back to work at 7am the next morning, you are doing yourself a disservice. It is more stressful to start the week without the basics like laundry and groceries done. Give yourself time to get ready for the week so you aren’t slammed back into it after being on vacation! Yes, you may LOSE one day on your trip away but towards the end of most trips many people start missing home anyway. It is SO worth having the item to adjust: decompress, unpack, stock the fridge, do laundry, get your planner out… get your head right.
We left for London a day early before spring break started and came back 2 days before school started. Monday wasn’t perfect (remember, that’s not the goal) but id DID feel a lot better to get into the groove of home life before life starts lifin’ with work, school, activities, social plans, meal prep, etc.
Let me review these tips:
- Set your intentions for your vaca
- Write down ONE meaningful checkbox to fulfill during the trip
- Set low expectations/build in flexibility
- Stick to your routine
- Build in time to unwind and unpack
Repeat after me:
You deserve time off.
You deserve time to yourself.
You deserve time away from work.
Vacation with a purpose, friends.
Don’t rob yourself from your well deserved break.
Remove the guilt.
Unplug.
Be in the moment.
Don’t ruin it.
Freaking enjoy yourself.
You. Deserve. It.
Happy vacationing!