It’s finally here: your vacation getaway. You’ve waited months for this, and now there’s no time to waste. You have sights to see, famous restaurants to try, and bus tours to catch. If only you had more time to soak up the culture and new experiences without rushing around.
We’ve all fallen into this trap at one point or another, and travel goddess Samantha Brown gets it. As a former Travel Channel host and the current star of PBS’s “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love,” Brown has ventured all over the world for her work. Along the way, she’s learned how to not let packed itineraries get the best of her: Create a ritual.
She elaborates on the tip in a video posted to TikTok: “Do one thing, the same thing, same time, every single day.” She adds that the tip can be difficult to adopt if you’re used to following a tight schedule on vacation and prioritizing productivity over pleasure. “But when this becomes your approach to travel, you become really bullied by time,” Brown explains.
Relaxing rituals keep stress under control
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♬ original sound – Samantha Brown
If creating a vacation ritual sounds like a waste of time, you might be a victim of hurry sickness. Hurry sickness isn’t an actual condition diagnosed by a doctor, but it is a very real phenomenon that can take over your everyday life — including your vacation. Put simply, the “sickness” involves rushing through tasks, squeezing in to-do list items wherever you can fit them, and feeling antsy when a task takes longer than expected to complete.
When you live your life with hurry sickness, you might neglect self-care and relaxation, opting instead to run on constant anxiety and adrenaline. According to Healthline, this can lead to irritability, low self-esteem, relationship issues, and health problems such as high blood pressure.
Even if you don’t usually deal with hurry sickness, a long-anticipated trip isn’t the time to start. After all, vacations already come with some built-in stressors, such as jet lag, language barriers, and culture shock. Not giving yourself time to slow down and decompress could result in you feeling stressed and depleted by the end of your trip.
Rituals to try during your next trip
A ritual can be anything you want, as long as it helps you slow down and take time for yourself. You might choose to take a bath in your hotel tub every evening before bed, or perhaps you’d prefer to meditate each morning before heading out the door. However, some of the best rituals allow you to get out and explore your destination like a local. Samantha Brown explains in her TikTok that she’s a fan of visiting a local café near her hotel every day. The habit, she says, becomes a source of comfort when she’s away from home, and sipping on her daily cappuccino allows her to stay in the present moment.
Besides enjoying the local coffee scene, you could visit the same brunch spot every morning during your vacation, giving yourself plenty of time to taste your food and take in the restaurant’s atmosphere. Or maybe you’d rather end each day with the same walk on the beach or stroll around the city.
If there’s a ritual that helps you stay grounded in your daily life, find a way to bring it with you. For instance, visit a local yoga studio every day if downward dog is a part of your usual routine, or if reading is a go-to, carve out time to read in a local park each day. Whatever ritual you choose, remember to treat it as “me time” — not another item on your to-do list.
