Headline news: The summer is upon us, and we are in desperate need of a summer vacation and a way to “recharge our engine.â€
The reasons are clear. Beyond the fears of global wars and continuing political acrimony, we also face personal challenges.
The risk of burnout is a good starting point. If you are an adult in the workforce, your chance of experiencing workforce burnout is high. According to Forbes, burnout has reached a high of 66%, and other news sources suggest higher.
The reasons have been well studied — work-life balance, lack of control, financial performance pressures, staffing shortages, managers who seem invisible and more.
Burnout does not hit adults only. College students feel it, too. A whopping 80% of students reported feeling burned out at some point during their college experience. Similar to the adults interviewed, their reasons include a heavy workload, insufficient sleep, fear of failure and an inability to identify a clear path forward. Depending on the school, students may feel the stress of campus unrest and an uncertainty about their school’s culture.
Even teenage children experience burnout at a time in their lives when they supposedly have fewer responsibilities and can be more carefree. According to CNN, 27% of teens reported experiencing burnout, and 81% said they felt pressure that left them feeling negatively about their appearance, achievements, social life and their plans. They experience some of the same pressures as adults, with the added pressures brought on by social media, navigating relationships and the perpetual fear of missing out.
The mood of family members, combined with the fast pace of modern-day living, has left parents wishing they had more quality time with their children. A study by Pew Research found that 70% of moms and 63% of dads would like more time to connect with their kids daily. For everyone, this is hard to make happen.
Enter summer vacation — the Hail Mary pass we throw to finally get connected, have some fun and hear the details of what’s on our family members’ minds.
Perhaps this explains why aligning summer calendars — not a trivial exercise — is so important. It is reported that 68% of families plan to take a summer vacation. The sunny downtime represents our universal, ever-present hope that we can make up for lost time and return to our world feeling healthier and more connected. We can even create new memories that will extend our family history.
All good except for the reality that is too often experienced. Family vacations can be challenging. We can bring expectations and sought-after relief, only to feel more diminished as we leave. It doesn’t need to be this way. Through planning and consideration of myriad interests and personalities, we may meet or even beat expectations, but it’s not happenstance.
Some of the perennial problems include: dog or no dog (he is man’s best friend, and my kids, too)? Water, mountains or cultural extravaganza? Hotel, Airbnb, or camping? Eat in or eat out? What are family-fun common activities to enjoy? In our family, it is tennis, but who wins a match can be a mood changer.
We mix the rhythm of working together on a large jigsaw puzzle with a small number of competitive games, such as Chronology, where one doesn’t have to know history to guess the chronological order of historical events, or Taboo, where odd clues from shared history with your partner can lead to the correct word.
Maybe before proceeding to the vacation, watch the movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation,†where the Griswold family drives cross-country to the Walley World theme park and confronts a series of challenges along the way. Why?
Because no matter how good the planning is, challenges will inevitably arise along the way. With the right attitude and a few simple rules, even the challenges can get squashed, and our overblown expectations can be managed. Mine are simple:
- Go simple with meal planning, but always respect the importance of a good dessert.
- Cap off the day with a good walk at a leisurely pace.
- Never skimp on quality coffee.
- Err on the shorter, versus longer, vacations so that you leave your family wanting more.
At the start of vacation, have your whole family say in unison as Chevy Chase did in the “National Lampoon’s Vacation,†“This is no longer a vacation. It’s a quest for fun. I’m gonna have fun and you’re gonna have fun.â€
Then, have some fun!
