Recently updated on: April 27, 2024
For many rat race runners, vacations are not usually vacations but are a temporary escape from the shackles of their reality.
So, when they spend a couple of vacation leaves, they try to make it as planned as possible, up to the minute, to make their trip worth it.
However, not all travels and vacations should be structured to the tee, especially if you're growing older.
Here are some reasons why you need an unstructured vacation.
Table of Contents
What Is an Unstructured Vacation?
Before we get into the reasons why you need an unstructured vacation, here are some criteria:
- No Set Agenda. You don't have a specific agenda when traveling. You don't have a long list of activities you want to do and instead decide to rest.
- Flexibility. You can oversleep, change locations, change time, and be as spontaneous as possible.
- Disconnect From Routine. You don't need to follow your usual workday routine since it's an unstructured vacation.
1. Reduce Stress
You need a vacation to free yourself up from stress, which is impossible if you're just replacing your work-related stress with vacation-related stress during travels.
When having an unstructured vacation, you can avoid the usual travel stressors, like trying out everything you can and spending too much time in queues.
However, you still should be on time, especially if you're traveling by plane, as it would be one of the most significant stressors you can get.
The goal is to limit yourself in stressful situations and spend more time relaxing as much as possible.
2. Physical Refreshment
One important part of any vacation is to step back and have a much-needed rest - like sleeping without an alarm and waking up refreshed.
Unfortunately, you can't have that physical refreshment if you're constantly on the go because your itinerary is full.
If possible, treat your travel vacation as an actual vacation and let your shoulders relax a little.
3. Mental Refreshment
An unstructured vacation will provide much-needed mental refreshment, especially if you're traveling somewhere that requires physical focus and little time with your phones.
Having no specific timeline for your itineraries can also be a great time to "touch grass" to see a different reality, something experienced by others daily.
A mental refreshment can also be a way to flush out some things that keep your mind occupied. It can be about your job, your relationship, or something else. A mental detox can even be the reason why many people wanting to forget usually travel.
4. Better Relationships
One of the biggest stressors when traveling happens when you're touring with a group and forget to set your expectations about how fast or slow you want to move.
I experienced a few times while traveling when I was younger when someone wanted to spend too much time taking pictures while the rest wanted to move fast. This led to conflicts and stresses in our relationships.
So, when traveling on an unstructured vacation, especially with your family and special someone, you can spend more time with them instead of just taking pictures and videos.
5. Exploring Without Pressure
When you travel in your 20s, you will feel you have enough stamina for the next four days traveling with little to no sleep. However, when you hit your 30s, it will start going down.
By doing an unstructured vacation without specific timed itineraries, like 5:00-5:15 Wake-up, 5:15-5:45 Breakfast, and so on, you can be more relaxed and relieve the time pressure you put on yourself.
You can wake up late, spend a long time where you want, skip uninteresting places, and move at your own pace. However, you can only do this if you're traveling DIY rather than within a packaged tour.
6. Have More Time To Introspect
One of the best things about traveling with an unstructured time is having more time with yourself and being alone with your thoughts. You can sit along the beach, by the pool, at a mountaintop, or someplace else and just immerse yourself in your mind.
7. Creating Good Memories
When I was younger, whenever I traveled, it was usually under a strict itinerary - mainly because I was generally traveling on a budget.
Unfortunately, my memories were not about the people I was with or my new experiences but mostly about how tired I used to be while traveling.
Unstructured vacations can create more good memories that will replace your prior experiences of tiredness with joy and relaxation.
Final Thought
Vacations are best spent relaxing and taking your mind off the things that stress you.
It is also an excellent opportunity to spend time with your friends and family, discover new places, immerse into new customs and cultures, or just sit on the beach.
So, if you can, have an unstructured vacation once in a while. It will help you in more ways than you expect.