WEBVTT - Plan your 2020 vacations now

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.

0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.840
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:18.880
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to plan all of next year's vacations now.

0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:22.280
<v Speaker 1>Doing so will give you a lot to look forward to,

0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:26.800
<v Speaker 1>and we'll help you make more holistic choices to maximize happiness.

0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:30.560
<v Speaker 1>A few weeks ago, my husband and I sat down

0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:34.320
<v Speaker 1>to map out our vacations. Neither of us has to

0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:37.160
<v Speaker 1>officially put in for vacation days at work, we both

0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:40.920
<v Speaker 1>have a great deal of control over our schedules. Nonetheless,

0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.760
<v Speaker 1>we decided that planning the year in one shot would

0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:48.559
<v Speaker 1>provide some real upsides. First, we could match up with

0:00:49.080 --> 0:00:53.600
<v Speaker 1>and optimize the school schedule. We'll have four school aged

0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.680
<v Speaker 1>children next year, and since our district only allows for

0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.160
<v Speaker 1>a few vacation related absences, we're pretty much tied to

0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:04.679
<v Speaker 1>that calendar. But the school calendar has some interesting quirks.

0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:09.320
<v Speaker 1>For instance, classes start after Labor Day, and Labor Day

0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:12.280
<v Speaker 1>is late enough in that the kids will still be

0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:16.160
<v Speaker 1>off for the entire first week of September, so we'd

0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.680
<v Speaker 1>be able to do a summer vacation at a time

0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:22.720
<v Speaker 1>that a lot of places are priced for Shoulder season. Likewise,

0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.959
<v Speaker 1>this year, we get an entire calendar week off after Christmas.

0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.800
<v Speaker 1>This means we can do a weekly rental somewhere post

0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:32.840
<v Speaker 1>Christmas without having to figure out how to ship gifts

0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:38.039
<v Speaker 1>and alert Santa to our new location. Second, planning all

0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:42.200
<v Speaker 1>of our vacations at once minimize as conflict. When we

0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:46.479
<v Speaker 1>plan each vacation individually, we run into family members differing

0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:50.600
<v Speaker 1>opinions about what makes a good trip. Some people like beaches,

0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.960
<v Speaker 1>some people like skiing, some like national parks, some like

0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:59.440
<v Speaker 1>amusement parks, some like cities with culture and history. When

0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:03.040
<v Speaker 1>we plan the whole year, more people can be accommodated,

0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:05.960
<v Speaker 1>So if an island trip wins out for spring Break,

0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.079
<v Speaker 1>the skiers aren't unhappy if they know they'll get their

0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:13.720
<v Speaker 1>time in December. Third, planning the whole year's vacations at

0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:17.040
<v Speaker 1>once allows you to be honest about your time and budget.

0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:21.560
<v Speaker 1>People's tendencies can actually go both ways. I'm pretty cheap

0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:23.679
<v Speaker 1>and I find it kind of hard to spend money,

0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:27.000
<v Speaker 1>so knowing the approximate tally for the whole year helps

0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:29.000
<v Speaker 1>me feel better about maybe going up a notch on

0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.079
<v Speaker 1>hotels for one of the vacations. I can see we're

0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:35.079
<v Speaker 1>still under the target, whereas someone who's a bit more

0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.720
<v Speaker 1>spendy might see that, oh well, if we want to

0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.880
<v Speaker 1>hit Europe in late summer spring break might need to

0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:44.040
<v Speaker 1>be a bit more local. This goes for time as well.

0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.400
<v Speaker 1>If I see that my vacations are paced roughly once

0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.640
<v Speaker 1>every three months, I can plan my work and energy

0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:56.400
<v Speaker 1>to accommodate that. Finally, planning ahead has logistical and psychological benefits.

0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:58.959
<v Speaker 1>In my case, we have learned the hard way that

0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.840
<v Speaker 1>getting six or seven seats together on direct flights to

0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:06.440
<v Speaker 1>the places we want to go can be challenging last minute. Likewise,

0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:08.280
<v Speaker 1>while you can get a hotel room for two to

0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.280
<v Speaker 1>three people at any point, places that accommodate a big

0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:14.520
<v Speaker 1>brood are harder to come by. Best to book ahead

0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:18.560
<v Speaker 1>of time, and when we do well. Some interesting research

0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.000
<v Speaker 1>finds that the bulk of the happiness associated with vacations

0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:27.160
<v Speaker 1>actually comes ahead of time. Many a dreary January commute

0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.200
<v Speaker 1>has been warmed by the sun of an island where

0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.440
<v Speaker 1>a resort is booked for May. The earlier you plan,

0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:38.200
<v Speaker 1>the more time you can spend anticipating your fun. So today,

0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:40.160
<v Speaker 1>take a few minutes to look at the calendar for

0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:42.920
<v Speaker 1>the upcoming year and figure out when you might like

0:03:43.000 --> 0:03:45.960
<v Speaker 1>to take your vacations. Think about what you might like

0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.880
<v Speaker 1>to do, then set aside some time to talk with

0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.680
<v Speaker 1>the people you normally vacation with about what they'd like

0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:55.360
<v Speaker 1>to do, what they'd like to see happen in you'll

0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.040
<v Speaker 1>likely emerge with a plan that will have you very

0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:02.680
<v Speaker 1>excited about the new year. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:05.840
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:14.480
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.880
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:22.200
<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at

0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:27.760
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast

0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:30.920
<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.799
<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.

0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.320
<v Speaker 1>That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:40.039
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:48.920
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.080
<v Speaker 1>more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I heart

0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.520
<v Speaker 1>Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

0:04:55.560 --> 0:05:01.120
<v Speaker 1>favorite shows. YEA