Vacation Mindset: Find it Here, Find it There, Bring it Everywhere

"It’s Five O'Clock Somewhere" is not only a pretty good song by Jimmy Buffet and Alan Jackson but also a nice cliche that justifies having a drink no matter what time of day it is.

Unintended alcoholic connotations aside, it's a nice thought to be able to enjoy something no matter what hour your watch shows. We know that most people work well beyond 5 pm these days so that tagline carries even more weight now that the literal meaning is mostly lost. The real point being you shouldn't have to wait for some socially accepted timeframe to enjoy something, which is the topic of this post.

Story Time

In May of 2019, there was a run of two concerts at an epic venue in New York called The Brooklyn Mirage. The Mirage is a castle of a concert space with balconies overlooking a massive dance floor with full music festival size production. Up until then, I hadn't been there for a concert but there was a two-day lineup that had me licking my chops. Kaskade was playing one of his famous Redux sets on Friday and on Saturday Disclosure was going on tour for the first time since 2016. This was a back-to-back concert stretch l hadn’t seen in ages and a natural cause for celebration. So, to celebrate, we had a big crew rallied for each night we even convinced one of our good buddies, Mel, to fly out to join us for the entirety of the weekend.

On paper, this was a weekend for the books. However, even with a schedule this appetizing, there is an element to going out in the city that you live in that can feel routine at times. You go to a similar place for dinner. You gather in your own apartment for drinks before heading out in the same uber that you always take to the venue, and at the end of the night you go back to sleep in your own bed. All of that is fine and dandy but at times it doesn't feel like anything special. Wanting to avoid this feeling like just another weekend in New York, I had an idea.

DIY Fest

I called it the "DIY Fest". The DIY fest was for us to enjoy these two concerts with the same mindset that we would use when traveling to a music festival somewhere exotic, all within the confines of the five boroughs (really only three because I rarely went to the Bronx, or yeeeeuck Staten Island.) So we decided we were going to have a vacation in our own city.

This entailed going out to a nice dinner on Friday night with the whole crew that we were going to the show with. After a 4 am night for Kaskade we treated ourselves to a great brunch the day of the second show at a place I had reserved for special occasions only. After that, we set out to have an afternoon sipping beverages in a beautiful park overlooking the lower Manhattan skyline as if we were tourists visiting Williamsburg for the first time. Generally, we set out to adopt a mindset of relaxation and exploration, the way I like to enjoy my vacations.

The result was one of the most memorable weekends I had in my four years in New York and a new way to frame the time spent in the city that you live.

The Vacation Mindset

We are different versions of ourselves when we are on vacation. We are more relaxed and open to new experiences. We are more likely to be open to meeting new people and stepping out of our comfort zones. We don't pinch pennies in the same way we do when we're in our routine. When people say "I'm living my best life", they usually do so while traveling somewhere exotic or while taking time off from work. I propose that we all would benefit from stepping into this mindset more frequently, even if we aren't able to leave our geographic zip code. Assuming that is something you'd want to do, the question becomes how do we do achieve this mindset when our physical surroundings dictate so much of how we think and behave?

Option 1: Invite Some Friends to Visit

The easiest way to put yourself into a vacation mindset is to host other people who are on their own vacation. When you have people visit there is a tendency to push yourself to schedule new and exciting activities. To do tourist shit that no one gets around to in your home city (For example, the only time I went to see the Christmas decorations at Rockefeller center was when my GF was in town visiting me…. I lived three blocks from it for a full year and never made the trip). You plan and schedule and (if you're a good host) optimize their trip to make sure that everyone has a great time while they're around. Having someone come stay with you is the catalyst for making all of those plans and ensuring that it's a memorable weekend. So, the first way to get into that vacation mindset in your own city is to invite friends to come to visit you and let the rest unfold.

Option 2: Do Something Alone

I have only taken one full trip as a solo traveler and it stands out in my mind to this day as one of the most epic vacations I have ever taken. There is no freedom quite like being on vacation, in a new city, without any competing priorities for how to spend your time. You wake up each day and do exactly what you want to do for each waking moment. You decide where you go, what/when you eat, what you plan and don't plan, how you travel, and everything else you can imagine. To some people, that might feel like an overwhelming amount of choice, but to my savvy readership (you people) that is exactly the kind of experience that unlocks the true "you" in so much as that can be unlocked. I don't think this experience is limited to a solo trip to a foreign land. I think with some light planning you can make that your experience during a weekend in your own city. With so many conflicting requests on our time choosing not to plan anything is as much a plan as anything else. So coming into a weekend, to put yourself in this solo traveler's mindset, just say no to everything and see where the day takes you. You don't have to do anything huge or novel, simply going to a neighborhood you don't normally visit on your own is enough to feel like you're on a trip somewhere. The activities get to be your decision alone and if you will it, you can tap into that beautiful exploratory state of mind that usually requires a flight somewhere new.

Option 3: Make it a Priority

The final option, and honestly the most difficult, is just to make it a priority and do it. I don't lead off with this option because quite frankly if everything was that easy, we'd all have perfect six-packs and have read 50 books a year. Having the discipline to do something when it’s not the default is something that takes an order of magnitude more effort than you think it will. HOWEVER, it is doable and something that I find personally rewarding. The times where I have rallied my friends around a big unusual weekend about town in our own city have been some of my favorite to date. The days that you go do something touristy or spend an entire day in a new part of town with friends without concern for the routine are those that stick out the most when you are reflecting back on your time in a city. For that reason, it is worthwhile to pursue this state of mind even when you feel like doing your chores and catching up on sleep during a weekend at home. Don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for that too, you just need to prioritize the new stuff as well, otherwise, your life will slip by and you'll wonder why you spent the bulk of your free time recharging for the workweek.

It doesn't matter if you invite friends to town, do a solo day or rally your troops for a vacation in your home town just get out there and make an effort. I promise you the returns will far outweigh the costs. If you do have a memorable "Vacation at home" story please slide it into my DMs. I'd love to hear about it and use it for inspiration for my next weekend journey.