Hello Reader,
Being strategic at work but clueless on holidays? That was me.
I never used to plan my holidays far in advance.
Career planning, strategy, project timelines — I’ve always been a very organised and strategic person.
But when it came to long weekends or public holidays, I’d often find myself caught off guard.
“What? Tomorrow’s a day off?” “It’s a long weekend? Really?”
My co-workers would give me that puzzled look — 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺?
Having lived abroad for most of my adult life, I don’t always know all the public holidays. But if I’m honest, I also never made holiday planning a real priority.
And yet, I would often end up frustrated with myself for not organising something fun in time. Everything would be last-minute and rushed.
Now that we have kids, planning trips takes a bit more coordination.
So, over the past three years, we’ve changed our approach.
👉 At the beginning of the year, my partner and I sit down and talk about what we want to do and experience as a family.
👉 What places do we want to show our kids? What kind of adventures do we want to have together?
👉 I then gather all the daycare closing dates, we divide up our vacation days fairly, ask for support where needed, and map out our trips for the year.
It’s made everything so much more relaxed — and most importantly, it means we 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 go to the places we’ve always talked about.
Yes, it takes some thought and coordination. But knowing we’ll follow through? That’s what motivates me.
I can’t wait for this year’s summer trip. More on that soon. 😎
What are your strategies for yearly holiday planning? 🙋♀️
Mareike
