As 2018 comes to an end and 2019 is right around the corner, most people are thinking about their New Year’s resolutions of exercising more, losing weight, and eating healthier. What about taking a vacation?  Vacation days in America go unused and forgotten each year.  Project Time Off reported that 52% of American Employees had unused vacation days at the end of 2017.  Help make 2019 your year for vacationing and reap the benefits of vacationing below:

Create Memories

“The best thing about memories is making them”

Instead of spending money on items, use it to create memories with your friends and family. These are the things you will cherish and remember forever – not the sleepless nights caused by work and chores. Vacations get you out of your everyday routine and allow you to spend quality time doing leisurely activities and seeing new things.

Improve Mental Health

“Investment in travel is an investment in yourself” – Matthew Karsten

Getting away from home helps you restart and step away from the stressful areas of your life.  Common stress-relieving activities during a vacation include spa treatments, relaxing at the beach, and sleeping in. During this time, you are proven to reduce stress and improve your mental health. A study of 1500 rural women in Wisconsin showed that tension is lower among women who took more than one vacation in two years.

Improve Productivity

“In the U.S. and Canada … for each 10 vacation hours a person took, we found on average that the performance reviews were 8 percent higher,” said Maryella Gockel, flexibility strategy leader at Ernst & Young

Reflect on the last time you had a short deadline for a project…. were you more efficient in completing that project? The answer is most likely “yes”. According to the New York Times, more people are unable to juggle all the demands of life, resulting in spending more time doing less. Studies show by taking more breaks and getting away from the office longer and more frequently, your productivity will improve. Make sure to plan your vacation days – you will become more focused in your work and, in the long run, more efficient.

Improve relationships

“It doesn’t matter where you’re going, its who you have beside you”

Couples and families who take vacations together have better relationships. The same study of 1,500 Wisconsin women found that, “the odds of marital satisfaction decreased as the frequency of vacations decreased”.

Your company gives you paid time off for a reason, so make sure to plan and put your vacation on the books.  If money is tight this year, check out the blog: How to stretch your dollar in Breckenridge.

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” – Sydney J. Harris