Time. Time never seems to be sufficient. It looks like it moves too quickly (and every year seems to be faster).
People always complain about not having enough time, which is one reason they don’t travel nearly as much as they’d like. Money is another issue that I have discussed here.
COVID’s change in the office concept has led to a rise in digital nomads, but not everyone can work remotely.
Even if they are not nomadic, the majority of people with office jobs now (specifically Americans) want to travel much more than they actually do. They feel they don’t even have time.
Imagine you work for 50 weeks in a year and receive two weeks off. (Not American? You probably get more vacation time if you’re not American. If you add up all your weekends and vacation days, the total number of travel days is 110 per year (104 weekend days plus 10 days from your two-week holiday). This is a long time to travel. Add in holidays and three-day weekends, and you can increase your total by even more. You can accomplish a lot in that time, even if it is not continuous.
Think about it for a moment: 110+ free days per year. This is close to 4 months’ worth of travel time each year! Four months! With that much time, the world is at your fingertips.
Looking at our busy schedule in this light makes it much more open. What do you do with all that time?
Priorities are everything. There are obligations in our daily lives that take time, but if we really want something, then we will find a solution. You can say the same thing when you don’t think you have time to go to the gym. I have a lot of free time to go to a gym. I spend that time somewhere else.
I don’t make the gym a priority (even though it should).
Most people also associate “travel” with a big, long, and expensive trip, and therefore, they discount any short-term travel. When they say, “I want travel,” they think of a long-term trip, such as a cruise or a multi-month journey. A big trip is a long journey to a distant land.
It’s not their fault. The travel industry tells us that we should travel long distances because people will spend more on these trips. We accept this concept without considering other options.
You will believe something if you repeat it enough—I used to. Jessica will never go to Ireland, and Bob will always be a hater.
COVID taught us that there is a lot to do and see near home. Even if you don’t travel for months, you can still travel 110 days per year. You can travel more if you make it your priority.
What can you do about it? What are some smaller trips that you can take and still make a huge impact? These are some ideas for trips that you can take when you only have a limited amount of time.
1. Take a weekend getaway
Spend a weekend somewhere. It’s not much time, but two days are enough to visit a nearby city, town or national park. I used to spend quite a bit of time in New York City. Weekends away included trips to Atlantic City and Fire Island, as well as the Hamptons, Berkshires and Boston.
It is a good idea to take more weekends away. This can help you break your routine and curb your wanderlust until your next big vacation. Even a few days away is better than not going anywhere at all!
2. Close by is a good place to go
Have only a week to spare? Do not waste time travelling halfway around the globe. Consider going a short distance from your destination.
Miami and Fiji are too far away? Central America is the place to go!
Is Los Angeles and Sydney too far away? Stop halfway in Hawaii, New Zealand or a Pacific Island nation.
In Europe? You’re good to go! 90% of Europe is within a 3-hour flight.
Keep close to your destination, and you will have less time. The best deals on flights are usually for destinations near you. Be flexible.
You should visit places you’ve never been before.
When you travel, it is better to pack less.
3. Local tourism
People don’t visit their city enough. How often do you visit museums, discover new places in your town or see the main attractions of your city? I know New Yorkers who have never visited the Met, Bostonians who have never walked along the Freedom Trail and Amsterdammers who have never explored the red-light area.
Spend the weekend as a tourist. Move out of your house, find a cheap hotel, and enjoy the experience. It’s fun to be a tourist in your city. You learn more about yourself and where you came from.
You may overlook a lot of things around you when you are busy living your daily life. But if you take a moment to look around, you will find many exciting ways to spend your time.
Travel is all about learning and seeing new things, and you can do that right in your backyard!
If you’re going to do this, make sure that it doesn’t feel like your home. If you stay in your home, it will be tempting to get up and run errands and then “run short of time.“
4. Maximize your time
You’ll run around too much. You will run too much. I get a lot of emails from people wanting to see half of Europe within two weeks or to conquer South America in one month.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed by your travel itinerary when you try to fit everything in. You see all the destinations, become overwhelmed, realize that you don’t have enough time to visit them, and give up and wait until you “have” more time.
You may not have much time to travel, and you want to see as many places as possible, but this is not the best idea! By limiting yourself to one or two locations, you can save a lot of money and time! You will never see everything. I can’t even see everything that I want with an open schedule. I gave up trying a long time ago. Less is more when it comes to travel. Quality is more important than quantity.
Travelling is possible even if you don’t have the time to spend months on it. You don’t have to be a nomadic nomad to travel the world. It’s not a good excuse to say you don’t have the time.
If you learn how to travel more effectively, you can travel more effectively. You may not be thinking about how to spend your time other than the usual “two-week holiday.”
Next time you say “I don’t have time”, think about all the nearby places you could visit. You will have to do errands and other things that need your attention. By prioritizing travel and using creative thinking, you will find that you actually do still have time to see the world.
Exploration is the essence of travel, and it can take place anywhere at any time.