Travel IRL: How to Maximize Your PTO
Recently there was a post of Facebook, asking the community how many people were already scheduling their 2020 travel. About 30% of the respondents described themselves as booked out as far as August/September, 20% had some travel booked for the year, and 10% were fully booked for 2020 and working on 2021. The other 40% were thinking about 2020 but hadn't pulled the trigger on finalizing.
What was somewhat surprising was the number of people who lamented their work schedule(s) or family responsibilities. So we thought we would use a couple of posts to discuss this topic, starting with PTO, or Paid Time Off.
Like many of you, both Stephanie and I have full time jobs apart from b2g.travel that take up most of our 8-5 during the week and "limit" us to just a few weeks of paid leave each year. That's just the way it is in the U.S. :(
But we don't let that stop us! By thinking outside the traditional box wrt what it means to be on holiday, being flexible, and with a sense of adventure, we guarantee you can maximize your time away from work to effectively double the time you have for travel.
Tip #1: Free Your Mind of the Week-Long Holiday
When we talk to people about vacations, usually the mindset is one that thinks in terms of weeks - a week here, a week there, etc. and that's all the time they have. No! The first thing you need to do is free your mind of those absolutes. The goal is to have time away to relax, refresh, maybe explore. Arguably, you can be just as refreshed over 2 days as you can be over 5 days - it's getting your mind to the place where it can set aside the cares of the world. In today's fast-paced, always connected world, this may not be easy to do - Chris recalls taking holiday and needing 3 days just to get his mind clear. Now, once he leaves the house, the smile on his face makes it evident he's left all the cares behind.
Tip #2: Friday = Travel Day
Now, we're not encouraging anyone to shortchange their work obligations. BUT, at the very least you can plan your time away to start at 5:01pm. Or, maybe take a working lunch and leave or 4:01pm. Or, take a 1/2 day and hit the road/tarmac/beach at 12:01p. You get the idea. If you're flying, look at at itineraries that allow you to leave mid-to-late afternoon Friday so that you can maximize your time at your final destination. There's something pretty awesome about waking up Saturday morning at your holiday spot and not at the airport! Particularly if you are traveling Westward, you'll want to be mindful of the time lost and get ahead of that quickly.
Chris scored a solo travel to Japan years ago for about $600, leaving on a Thursday afternoon and arriving 5pm Friday, departing the following Monday @ 5pm and landing in Chicago at the same time. While that's a bit extreme, it beat sitting on the back porch for the weekend! The point is simply this: see if you can squeeze a few extra hours out of your week so you can more quickly start enjoying your time away.
Tip #3: Digital Nomad for a Day (or two)
If you have a job that can be done remotely, even for short periods, consider asking your employer if you can "work from home" for a day or two. Most destinations have internet access that facilitate this, though the time differences may cause a bit of a challenge. Still, would you get up at 6am to put in your working hours while sitting barefoot on the beach? Or, take a conference call @ 10pm, after a day exploring a new culture? This too can extend your holiday while not taping in to your PTO hours. Just be mindful of your work obligations and respect the flexibility you're given.
These are just a few tips that have helped us increase our time away while minimally impacting our bank of vacation hours. In our case, we have been able to book holiday travel to The Bahamas, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Boston, Paris, and London for the first half of 2020 and still have 5-7 days available for the rest of 2020! Your mileage may vary, but we'd love to hear how you maximize your time to "come apart before you come apart"!