What do you find the more relaxing, long or short trips?
I find relaxation somewhere in the middle.
I like the idea of week-long vacations, but around day three I get stressed out about how much work I’d be returning to.
So I’ve been doing day trips.
7 am flight to Las Vegas. Party. 7 pm flight back.
Perfect.
Enough time to unwind. Still come back riding the high of relaxation and emotional excitement.
This helps me keep from burning out.
And when people on the your flight ask you how long you’re staying, there’s something magical about saying “Just today. I fly back in 8 hours.”
These day trips evolved from a business experiment.
A few years ago we were planning a company party. I’m not a big fan of the normal dinner thing. I wanted something unique, but also respect the employee’s time in getting home that evening. That’s when the first Vegas day trip happened.
It was a huge success.
With no luggage, it’s completely liberating to just go. With no hotel, it’s completely affordable.
Now, I’m starting to experiment with day trips in my personal life.
My wife and I do well and giving our kids quantity of time. But we’ve realized that bringing all kids everywhere may be minimizing the quality of that time for them individually. So we started rotating dedicating a weekend to each of our kids.
This weekend was my turn with my oldest. I took him to San Diego.
We caught a 6:30 am flight and a 5 pm return flight. Between the flights, rental car pickup, etc., that gave us 5-6 hours at the beach.
Sound like a lot of work for just a few hours at the beach?
Not a chance. It was perfect.
It was enough time to let loose and commit to enjoying the beach. Didn’t feel rushed.
We built sand castles, rented electric scooters, ate ice cream, grabbed lunch, built more sand castles, ate more ice cream.
By the time we started heading back, my son would have been tired on any other day. He was still ready to party, but I knew inside he was tiring.
On the way to the airport, he was dozing off. I asked him, “Are you worn out, bud?” He replied, “Yeah, but I had fun getting worn out.” And he passed out.
Best day trip ever.
