Life is Short - Take Your Vacation Days

It’s a startling statistic. Americans left 768 million vacation days on the table in 2018, according to a study released by the U.S. Travel Association.

That’s billions of hours that we’ve spent working instead of vacationing or simply not working. In fact, that same study found that more than 80 percent of American workers think they should be using their time off to travel, but they never take the trip.

You know that isn’t right. You’ve earned those vacation days. And, whether you’re willing to admit it or not, you need them.

If recent events haven’t made that point clear enough, life is precious and can be shorter than we’re expecting.

So here’s goal one for practicing your retirement - take your vacation days. Every Single One.

Work can survive without you - yes, I know sometimes that doesn’t seem possible (but it is) - and your health, peace of mind, family and friends will benefit from you taking those vacation days.

It doesn’t matter whether you travel, enjoy a staycation or simply loll on the couch. You’ve earned the right to decide and test out what it’s actually like to not be working and enjoying free time.

The bottom line - we have to stop envisioning retirement as an all-or-none proposition.

Gone are the days of the gold watch and kudos as we head out the door into the next phase of our life, leaving behind the world of work.

You owe it to yourself to stop donating work time to your employer.

Instead, consider those vacation days your golden opportunity to flush out your retirement vision.

What are you imagining doing more of when you retire? It could be something as simple as taking more walks or as elaborate as visiting that foreign country you’ve been talking about for years.

Sit down tonight, this weekend or next week, and start creating a bucket list or vision board. Then take your first steps by adding a few of those things to your calendar.

Practice your retirement. Take your vacation days.