Your Ideal Reset
My family recently had its annual summer vacation. We take several random trips throughout the year, but this is our sixth year taking this specific trip. It's the highlight of our family's summer, and an event most highly anticipated by all four of us.
Including travel days, we were gone for eight days. If you ask Sarah, she would say that a few more days would be perfect. If you ask me, two to three fewer days would be perfect. Even while having the best time in the world, I start going stir crazy by day six. It's not that I take it for granted or don't love it, but by that time, my mind and body are ready to get back to work.
A study conducted in 2012 found that, on average, the ideal length for a vacation is eight days. That's when we achieve maximum satisfaction before the law of diminishing returns kicks in. If you're not familiar with the law of diminishing returns, think about a delicious apple pie. That first slice is amazing! The second slice is also pretty fantastic! The third slice, though? That third slice starts to make us feel a little lethargic. What about the fourth slice? The fourth slice makes us queasy. What about the fifth? We're in a coma. Somewhere between the first slice and the second slice is peak satisfaction, which begins to diminish after that until we become worse off.
Vacations are the same. After a certain amount of time away, we achieve our peak satisfaction from our trip. Then, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. In my particular situation, I hit that point around day six. I NEED to get back into life and rhythm. I NEED to serve people again. I NEED to re-engage with my company.
The law of diminishing returns is one of the key reasons I vehemently disagree with the notion of early retirement. For those who believe that a life of leisure is the prescription to happiness, the law of diminishing returns has some bad news for you. In practice, a life of leisure eventually becomes empty and unfulfilling.....like that fourth and fifth slice of delicious apple pie. Too much of a good thing can become a very bad thing.
The alternative, though, can be beautiful. A mix of work and play, time on and time off, serving people well before getting a reset, pushing hard and then resting. It's a give and take. We don't have to grind ourselves into a pulp so that we can eventually take our ball and go home. My biggest encouragement is for people to find a permanently sustainable rhythm that you never want to retire from. How amazing would that be!?!?
What about you? What's your ideal vacation timeline? Sarah votes for 10 days. I vote for 5 or 6. The data says 8. What say you?
____
Did someone forward you this post? We're glad you're here! If you'd like to subscribe to The Daily Meaning to receive these posts directly in your inbox (for free!), just CLICK THIS LINK. It only takes 10 seconds.