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Planning a Quick Weekend Getaway

Get away from the city. Do it now, plan it quick, pack as fast as you can, and go. Don’t give yourself time to think twice about this—turn off your…

Get away from the city. Do it now, plan it quick, pack as fast as you can, and go. Don’t give yourself time to think twice about this—turn off your devices, leave your work behind, and get moving!

Most of us sit through our nine-to-five jobs all tired and miserable, but we try power through anyway. We remind ourselves of the basic reasons we do it: we have a career to build, a family to feed, a lifestyle to maintain, tuition to pay, a vacation or an item to save up for… the list goes on. But really, if we think about it, these are our motivations. These are the things that replenish our energy for the long work day. Motivation, I’ve found, is completely different from “reason.” Because really, the reasons we complete one task after another is quite simple and less romantic than what’s on our motivation list: there’s a boss waiting on our output. There’s a quota waiting to be fulfilled. There are numbers we need to meet and specific instructions on a white board that we feel are glaring at us while we work. Next thing we know, we’re deep into our busy lifestyle, and we start feeling like machines instead of people. We forget to just live. Soon, we’re burnt out worker bees with wrinkles and back pain. We scroll through our Instagram feed watching other people have the time of their lives at the beach, wondering when we’re going to be a little less busy for a nice vacation.

More often than not, these people didn’t wait to be less busy, because they knew they were always going to be busy. The work will never end. So they just decided to leave all their stressors (even just for two days) and hit the road. You should do the same! Here are three quick things you can do right now to get you started on planning a quick break from your busy life.

1. Pack

Just pack. Whether or not you’ve already figured out where to go, just start preparing already. Packing is the heavy lifting of traveling, so if you get it out of the way first, you’re more likely to commit to the decision of going. Take out your trusty backpack now: the one that’s just the right size to fit some clothes, a towel, gadgets, and other essentials. (It would be great if it were a waterproof backpack so you can’t use the weather as an excuse to stay and work!)

2. Look up a destination

Pick the nearest one, look up the specific details, and stick to that. What you need right now is less of a tourist destination and more of just a place that is NOT the busy, crazy city. All you need is a place to breathe and take things slow. You don’t even have to worry about where to stay: looking for a place while you’re there is part of the fun of exploration!

3. Put your work life on pause

Turn off your notifications. Send out polite emails to bosses and clients. Let your family and friends know you’re fine and safe. Use your phone only for navigating the place and for contacting people in case of emergency (stay away from social media, too!)

Just hibernate and take a breath. You’ll come back Monday morning fresh, rejuvenated, and ready for the grind again!