3 REASONS TO PLAN YOUR NEXT VACATION RIGHT NOW

We are a vacation-deprived nation. Americans are taking almost a full workweek less of vacation than they did just 15 years ago. It’s time to change. With temperatures rising, spring blooming, and summer around the corner, here’s why you need to plan your next vacation right now.

1. Your boss thinks you should. Quit worrying about being replaced for taking time off. The overwhelming majority of managers and human resources leaders not only want you to take time off, but they attribute time off to higher performance, better concentration and increased creativity. They may not always say it, but they sure do believe it.

2. Stuff won’t bring you happiness, but experiences will. Researchers from Cornell University found that investing in experiences, or “money spent on doing,” makes us happier than purchasing things. Even the wait between booking your vacation and leaving for it — as soul-crushingly long as it may seem — boosts happiness.

3. Time at the office isn’t helping your bank account. There’s no link between putting in more time at the office and getting a pay raise or bonus. In fact, people who leave more vacation time on the table are less likely to receive a raise or bonus and more likely to be stressed at work. You know a good way to reduce stress? You guessed it: vacation.

Break out of your daily routine. There’s no shortage of inspiration on what to do with your time off. It doesn’t always have to be a bucket-list destination; try adding a day on to your next work trip or making up your own holiday (“National Using My Vacation Time Just Because Day” sounds official). However you do it, stop making excuses and start planning. We all need to experience the upside of downtime.