In an earlier post from April, I offered advice on creating a “Verifiable Weekend” while working from home by either creating or breaking routines (if you missed it, I suggest taking a look at Making Time When It All Blends Together – the weekend section is at the end). With all of our travel plans cancelled and the inability to leave (or return to) the state without a 72-hour COVID-19 negative test, health attestation application, or 14-day quarantine, I have not really thought about taking vacation time. As the end of Summer looms here in New England, and as the Zoom fatigue starts bearing down, however, maybe now is the time to take some time away. I blocked time in my boss’ calendar to make sure she took some time off to de-stress and re-center. I should do the same for myself, and so should you.

Where to begin?

Planning:
The key to any successful trip, in my opinion, is very careful planning. I chose those words intentionally – I am not saying completely planning every moment¹, but thinking strategically about the entire trip and being carefully selective in planning key elements. Taking the time to research and make these plans ahead of your vacation will ensure that your time on vacation is spent relaxing and enjoying yourself.

Part 1: What if you have to stay at home?

Think of your space differently:
If you have been working from home like some of us, you likely have a room, or just a space, where you work remotely. Plan to erase all signs of work from that space when it’s time for vacation. Put your laptop, notebooks, files, coffee cup, pens, lamps – whatever you added to that space to make it a workspace – into a closet or someplace where it is out of sight and out of mind. You want to be able to use this space during your vacation, and don’t want to be reminded of work. Reclaim it for relaxing. Set-up a puzzle, or a complex board game, or tools for a new hobby on your desk. If you’ve taken over the dining room table for working, make sure it’s cleared and use it for it’s original purpose. Eat all of your meals there².

Change your bedroom into a hotel room by ordering a new set of sheets or duvet cover online, wash them, and wait to put them on until the morning your vacation has officially started. It’s like you’re in a new bed! Put some water bottles and a magazine or two by the bed, and maybe add a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on the dresser. Plan to “make it an early night” (wink wink) one night and open that bubbly, or plan to wake up on one of the mornings and stay in bed being lazy with a magazine and a mimosa. Make an agreement on who is going to make the coffee and bring it to the other – maybe you switch each day. Order some luxurious bathrobes that you don’t use until the vacation. Spend your lazy day wearing nothing but those robes. If you have the space (and the physical ability), re-arrange the furniture so your bed is in a different spot. If you have the luxury of owning a guest room, stay there during the vacation The idea is that you want to make it not feel like your every day experience.

Turn your bathroom into a Spa. Like the sheets and the bathrobe, maybe you can order a plush set of new towels. They could just be a new color. If you want to go whole-hog, buy a new shower curtain and bath mat to match. Once you have these things, they can be integrated into your everyday or saved for special staycations in the future – either way, you will associate the fond memories made during this time with these items every time you see them. The night before your vacation starts, swap out all of the soap, shampoo, toothpaste and mouthwash with travel toiletries you’ve collected from hotel rooms in the past. If you don’t have any – order some fancy sample-sized bottles (try Ulta, Sephora, Aveda or this guide). Pull all of the facial masks, nail polish, scrubs, bubble baths, and other unused products out from under your sink and use them! Give each other a massage or paint each other’s toes.

Think of food differently:
You may have noticed that I included your coffee cup in the list of things to hide earlier, and I mean it. If you drink from the same mug every day at your “desk,” then hide it and use a different one during your vacation. Do you have unused china tea cups and saucers in a cupboard? Use them. Why not change your coffee brand or blend for this time, or switched to iced coffee or tea? Your morning brew isn’t the only thing that can receive an upgrade. If you do have a set of dishes that is only used for special occasions, use it for all of your meals. This is a special occasion, and you’d be surprised how a plain old lunch sandwich can look right-at-home on an antique Royal Doulton gold-rimmed salad plate!

If you have the money (and you might, since you are saving so much in airfare, hotel, and other costs!), plan to order delivery for every dinner. Think of it as Room Service. Alternately, you can pre-plan most of your meals by prepping them in advance, start a trial meal subscription service to coincide with your vacation, make your own box based on a recipe you’ve been wanting to try, or find a complicated or time-consuming recipe that will give you a chance to work together in the kitchen preparing the meal. Try your hand at making croissants from scratch. The process can take 2-3 days (mostly downtime), and on the day they are baked, plan to enjoy breakfast croissants with jam, picnic sandwiches on croissants, and maybe a croissant bread pudding for dessert that night. Can’t think of meals? Research the menus from your favorite restaurants, or ones that you’ve always wanted to go to, and try to re-create a dish that intrigues you. When planning any this out, think of clean-up. There is no maid coming in to clean your room every day, and you don’t want to spend most of your time washing dishes.

Do you ever make Brunch at home? If not, now is the time to do so. Similarly, if you skip breakfast during the work week, think of taking the time to make yourself a full breakfast – pretend you’re at a diner and make some eggs, bacon, toast and homefries. Now is the time to indulge in a doughnut or bagel from the local bakery. Dust off that waffle iron you’ve barely used, or prepare an overnight breakfast casserole that you can slip in the oven while you are making coffee to bring back to bed for your loved one.

Turn lunch into a picnic, even if you don’t have an outdoor space. Picnics can be romantic (and bug free) in the living room, in bed, or on the floor of the kitchen. We have 2 parking spots behind our condo, and we’ve been using the empty one lately as a patio where we set-up beach chairs and sit with our coffee or read a book. And, I don’t think I really need to give you permission, but remember: You are on vacation, so wine, beer and cocktails (especially fruity or frozen) are acceptable during any waking hour of a vacation. A Mimosa or a Bloody Mary during breakfast/brunch, wine with lunch or dinner, a preprandial and/or postprandial cocktail, or a nightcap are all acceptable (in moderation – best not to include all in one day – don’t overdo it). Invest in some proper glassware³, decorations and garnishes if you are going for something tropical. Find a few new drinks to try. I highly recommend diving into a few episodes of How to Drink.

Think of activities differently:
What types of activities do you usually do on vacation? Do you go to theme parks, camping, hiking, site seeing, or maybe for a cultural experience? Try to find correlations in the activities you are able to do while confined to home with your favorite aspects of your typical vacation.

If your typical vacation involves camping and hiking, see what national parks or campgrounds in your area are open and accepting visitors. Pitch your tent in the living room (or make one out of blankets) or in your back yard. Turn off the lights and turn on a personal planetarium while you tell scary stories around some candles or a flashlight. Turn off the air conditioning and open all the windows to listen the sounds of the outdoors. Get a field guide of local flora or fauna to identify things in your neighborhood, or download a mobile app to track local bird sightings in your yard. Spend most of your time outdoors, including meals. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, or you are forced to stay indoors, use this time to plan your next adventure. Research a National Park you’ve always wanted to visit, or read accounts of hikers on a trail you feel you aren’t ready for. Work on a puzzle of a place you have been, reliving stories from that trip, perhaps while listening (or creating) the ambient sounds of that location.

If international travel is your raison d’être, spend your time at home immersing yourself in a culture you either have experienced, or wish to. Learn the language, or, if you are already fluent, work it into your daily speech. Try your hand at the cuisine, taking care to research regional specialties and new ingredients. Watch movies or television from this culture (subtitles optional), read a biography of one of their most influential residents, listen to the music, search for an online museum where you can view the art and history, study the map to find interesting regions or towns to research, and take notes in a journal to reference when you are finally able to visit these places.

If a quick weekend in NYC is your go-to vacation, sign up for a free 7-day trial of BroadwayHD, make yourself a sausage roll (extra onions), listen to some live jazz, do some online window shopping (with or without breakfast), watch Sex & the City (or any of these movies – be sure to pick a few from different eras), take a drone flight over your favorite neighborhood, visit the Met, the Guggenheim, or the Statue of Liberty, and put this on in the background.

Think of clothing differently: 
If you’ve been wearing pajama bottoms with a dress shirt and tie for your video calls at work, change things up by wearing actual matching clothes. Think of what you would pack (or go ahead an pack) in a suitcase for your typical vacation. Make it a game by choosing your possible outfits before the vacation, and then only allowing yourself to wear those clothes you’ve “brought with you.” Don’t forget a bathing suit for the pool, or evening wear for the elegant dinner you were planning. Maybe it is warm where you are, but you were planning a cruise to Alaska: crank-up the A.C. and put on your winter clothes indoors (don’t forget your scarf). Or maybe it’s winter, and you were planning a Walt Disney World trip to Florida: turn-up the heat and wear your shorts, tshirts, and bathing suit indoors. Often, people buy new clothes for a vacation, especially for cruises. Think about where you are going, and what you might need to buy. Maybe you need a sarong or a cover-up for the cabana, or big floppy hat for the beach, or some appropriately themed accessories.

In conclusion:
However you spend your time away from your virtual office, remember to enjoy yourself. Vacations are a privilege, but also a reward for the hard work we’ve put in. Make the most of what you have and what you can do, but do it for fun and for relaxation.

I hope these suggestions and tools will help you to make the most of your time off during these difficult and uneasy times. If you have suggestions or ideas of ways to enhance your own staycations, please comment below. And if you take any of my advice, I’ve love to hear about it!

---

_{Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases on select links.}