5 Excuses for Not Taking a Vacation That You Need to Ditch

Did you know that nearly 3 out of 4 working Americans have access to paid vacation every year, but that less than half of those will take a vacation?  Is this a surprise for you?  Sadly, it is not a surprise to us, as we have had many conversations with family and coworkers and this is a very common situation.  Why does this happen so frequently?   

Below you will see our list of the top 5 excuses for not taking a vacation.  Taking a vacation does not have to be a luxurious and extravagant outing, but can be something like visiting a national park, hiking a mountain, going to the beach, or a weekend getaway at a local bed and breakfast.  Too many people miss out on taking time off to recharge and many workers even lose accrued time every year by not taking it.  We don’t know about you, but the last thing we want to do is give our earned time off away because we were too busy at work to plan time off.   

One of our biggest tips we give our readers is to plan your vacation(s) in advance and write them down in advance on your calendar and request the needed time off as soon as you plan them so you can stick to the plan and keep from scheduling events during your planned time off.  We understand that planning a trip can be daunting and even more challenging around a busy work schedule, but don’t worry; the work will not disappear while you are gone!   

Too Much Work

We all know the feeling of being busy at work and trying to juggle numerous projects at one time, so thinking about taking a vacation is typically the last thing on many people’s minds.  I say many people, meaning not everyone, as Brian and I find ourselves daydreaming and researching and planning our next adventure.  We really enjoy travelling, but also enjoy the process of researching and choosing where we want to travel to next.  This process can be a bit daunting and challenging as there are so many places we want to travel. 

One of the biggest challenges to taking a vacation, is the worry of who is going to do your work while you are gone or in some cases how much work will be piled up on your desk or in your email when you return.  For us, there is never a lull in the workflow and we both stay busy year round, so we find by planning our travels in advance, it helps us take those much needed breaks regardless of what we have going on in our jobs. 

No One Else Can Do the Job

This is something that I have heard from coworkers when talking about travel.  Typically this is followed by having too much work which I mentioned up in excuse number one above.  This can be very challenging, as more frequently people are responsible for one or more jobs and they are not always part of a team where they have backup in case they are out for a period of time. 

An additional concern we have heard is that many people worry that being out for several days or a week will leave supervision or other coworkers unhappy and backed up and therefore there is no way that they can afford to take off.  While this may be true, how productive will you continue to be if you are burned out and your motivation to work is fried?  There are times where you need to get away from work so you can blow off some steam and return rejuvenated and renewed with energy and motivation to take on future work projects. 

Not Enough Money to Take a Vacation

Even with the best of intentions to travel, money can be a big hang up because to travel you need both time off and money!  We understand that money can be a challenge and saving money where you can adds up over time.   Some of the ways we have saved money in order to travel include cutting the cord (cable), joining a lower cost gym, shopping at discount stores, and changing cell phone carriers.  You can see the specific numbers in our post, “10 Tips to Save $20K in Just One Year”. 

For Brian and I, our motivation to save is to allow us to retire at an earlier age and to take on some additional travel adventures in the meantime.  This is a topic that is largely personal, as we know some coworkers who like to travel, but have issues affording it because they like to drive a new car or have the latest and greatest cell phone.  These are temptations that we have learned to live without and have yet to regret these decisions!

Management Looks Down on Taking a Break from Work

Typically people do not leave bad jobs, but they leave bad bosses.  We all know how a good or bad boss can make or break a job very quickly.  Obviously having a supportive supervisor is a very good thing, but we realize that this is not always the case for everyone. 

Either way, it is important to work hard and do a good job so that when it comes to requesting leave from work for a vacation, that your supervision has no obvious reason to say no.  This is not fool proof, but we have realized over the years that being seen as a competent and hard working employee always helps when it is time to ask to take leave.  This doesn’t mean that they may not give you a hard time about taking off, but by not abusing leave and working hard on accomplishing work related tasks is good ammunition for them if they gripe about your requesting leave. 

It is always good to at least mentally keep note of everything you have worked on and completed to date in case you need to bring it up if there is some concern about approving the leave.  As always, try your best to request off leave around any major events as to avoid causing any additional heartache for supervision. 

It’s Too Difficult to Unplug

Technology is a wonderful thing and can be a great way to keep in touch with family and friends.  This being said, technology is something that can be an anchor or leash when it comes to work and getting away from work.  More often than not, the ability to get away from work has become more difficult with emails and cellular phones as more and more workers find themselves checking emails and working from home on the weekends. 

 On vacation, we will have our cell phones with us to take photos and post social media updates to friends and family, and our blog of course!  That being said, both Brian and I follow the strict rule of staying away from work communications while we are off.  The true purpose of a vacation is to “unplug” and unwind and recharge our batteries both physically and mentally.  The only true way to do this is to focus on whatever you want to while you are away, minus any work issues or obligations.  To us, it makes no sense to travel with our work devices, because the building will still be standing and the work will still be there when we return.   

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