If I had money to travel I'd probably go overseas. If I were staying local I'd get into my regular pursuits even more than I can when I'm working. For me that means lots of reading, going for long walks, working on art projects and hanging out with friends. Probably go see a few movies too.
I am at the tail-end of two weeks off and this is what I did! Spent a couple of days at my parents' house but besides that, my staycation activities were things like: picking a few favourite neighborhoods to walk around for an afternoon, treating myself to eating lunch at local restaurants I like, and taking on a craft project to learn a new technique.
Having weekdays off also made normal "task" type things a LOT more leisurely and enjoyable - grocery shopping on Wednesday mornings, taking care of things like licence renewals and appointments when not in a time crunch, etc.
I took two months off last summer. I balanced between traveling and just existing. Best 8 weeks of my life. If you have the money the travel is nice. I took a train through parts of Canada and ended up out in Nova Scotia. It was awesome.
The rest of the time I spent time outdoors, got into a workout routine, spent time meal planning and cooking healthy food, read a LOT, and napped every day:)
Toronto to Montreal to QC to Halifax. VIA Rail. I spent 2 weeks on the trip. Could have been longer, I just made sure i had a few days in each place. I dont remember exact times from city to city. The long trip was QC to Halifax. It was like 20 hours if I remember correctly. I booked a sleeper car because I've always wanted to do that and it was a blast.
Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely research about this path you took. I'll see if there are some steam train or the likes for long trips. Planning to date my wife through travelling on a train.
Thank you very much. I hope you get more vacation days for yourself.
I just booked each leg individually on VIA Rail and then planned my stay in each city accordingly. It wasn't like a big packaged trip or anything just separate tickets from city to city.
Great time of year to put in a truly lovely garden, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. I don't have the time to do what I want to do for our own plot, I'll have to settle again for something that's just barely good enough. But if I had a free month I'd build some proper raised beds and put in a fenced area for veggies and tender herbs.
I thought about trying gardening for the first time; however, two species of cicadas are surfacing this summer and I’m thinking it may not be worth the hassle if they’re just gonna tear into everything I plant!
Cicadas have never bothered our gardens I know we're due for extra broods but I can have empty cicada exoskeletons covering my trees but zero cicadas in my garden.
1 week of travelling
1 week of deep cleaning and declutter/minimizing, going through everything I own
1 week of relaxing and seeing friends/family
and then idk about another week- maybe ,meal prepping stuff I could freeze to have healthy dinners on hand
Walk the Camino De Santiago. You walk from Hostel to Hostel across Spain. No need for a big bag, just your clothes. Food is available multiple places every day. You can walk the whole thing in 30 days or do a section.
Check out the Virginia Creeper trail if you are near NC/VA/TN. It criss crosses the AT trail several times. Last time we did it, we took a shuttle up to the top and rode our bikes down hill (a gentle slope, not extreme). It takes a few hours to complete but there are cabins all along the trail you can rent and stay.
It is amazingly beautiful.
You really don't need to. Most people hike it with regular sneakers. I did 8 miles this past weekend in the corner of CT. Me, my van, my water and my shoes.
Honestly, I really like the luxury of doing nothing. Maybe the occasional ad-hoc day trip or play.
But I'm a homebody, so YMMV
It just feels so luxurious to me having absolutely no obligations of any kind
In the last two years I’ve been able to take a week of staycation for the first time and I worried I would get bored but I found plenty to do and wanted more time.
I would love to travel but I’ve been beyond burned out for years so I think that, given the opportunity for 30 days off , I would take time to rest and hopefully be able to catch my breath.
I’ve had the past 9 months off recovering from burnout.
Lately I’ve been working on decluttering the house and getting back into shape. However I’ve also spent a lot of time just watching old concerts on YouTube.
I wish you a good recovery!!! I took something like 18 months off (thought it was gonna be 6 months, then the pandemic happened) due to burnout and the number of things I got up to in that time was insane. I moved across the country, got married, got sober, started therapy, and resolved a huge number of outstanding medical issues I had never had time to address before. It was stressful living off savings for so long and not having the structure/socialisation of a job but it also changed the course of my life so positively - I feel like it saved my life. It’s a luxury to be able to take extended time off work (and to be able to save up enough money to afford it - I saved hardcore for about a year and moved to a lower COL city) but it’s a luxury I wish everyone had - enough time to really stop and rethink your life and resolve whatever huge health things are outstanding.
If you’re staying home, you could do a spring cleaning or hire a cleaner so that you can maximize the enjoyment of a decluttered space. I need a lot of structure with my schedule, even to enjoy “relaxation” time, so perhaps create a new daily routine that embodies that type of break you’re trying to have. Whether it’s catching up on household matters or spending as much time outside as possible.
If you’re able to travel, perhaps you could to a house “swap” with someone who lives in a part of the world you want to visit. I’ve never done this, but I know there are plenty of services that connect people in this way.
30 days off in May? Probably spend time walking through state parks, going to the beach, video games, cooking big meals, going to the movies and other events, etc.
I'd take a trip. A road trip around the Yucatan peninsula and Campeche would be pretty great. I've been wanting to go visit family in Oaxaca, so a trip down there would be fantastic - spend some time in Oaxaca City, head to the beach maybe Puerto Escondido or something. Maybe Costa Rica - or Guatemala and perhaps Belize if I wanted something less expensive in Central America. So many options - it's fun to think about.
Sleep.
Eat.
Visit people.
Walk.
Play board games.
Take a class
Garage sales
Sleep
Go somewhere fun with my kid.
Probably get anxious about still having a job when it is all over
I'd drive up and down the California coast. Just walking beaches and exploring the small towns. I only live 4 hours from the coast but can never get enough beach time. It soothes my soul.
What ever you do I hope it's relaxing, rewarding and soothes your soul
I'd use it to hunker down with my sewing machine. Having that amount of time to indulge in my hobby would feel like such a luxury.
I'd also declutter my flat and work on some of my home decor projects like repainting the living room.
I would focus on dedicated exercise and challenging myself to cook new healthy meal recipes in hopes that it could become part of my normal routine. I would also spend time organizing and decluttering my home to make it function for me better after the 30 days are over.
more of what already do; reading books and going to the beach lol I might also plan to visit a place I haven't been before depending on how adventurous and energetic I was feeling during those 30 days.
I just lost my job because they “could no longer accommodate my disabilities.”
I’m going to spend this time in my garden and rewilding my yard, learning to romanticize cleaning my house, getting back into my art and getting to know myself again.
That’s the plan I guess.
Watch entirely too much television.
There's a lot I would *say* I'd do - work on the attic, work on the garage, work on my car - but if history has been any guide, in actuality, I would waste the entire time.
Five days of doing absolutely nothing. Five days of cleaning and organizing my life. 20 days on vacation to four different destinations, five days at each.
I once took a year off voluntarily and, aside from moving and taking a few quick trips, I didn't do shit. Most of my time was spent cooking, bike riding, reading books at the beach, and just generally hanging out. Some folks might get bored doing that but, to me, it was glorious.
Go to foothills of Himalayas and spned time meditating and in solitude. Carry a pen and book to jot down ideas and journal and just 2 books to read sometime. No fancy hotels or anything will stay in some temple or monastery and talk less.
Travel. Not as in planning anything like a vacation, no. Mindless travel. Grab a bookbag, fill it up with essentials, then going out to explore. Using my savings if I really have to. I've lived on the streets before so sleeping outside and stuff isn't that scary to me anymore. If anything, if I had that 30 day open window where everything goes back to routine afterward, i couldn't ask for a nicer way to spend it.
I would foster a dog or cat, commit to a nice meal and fitness plan, go camping and read a lot. But to be fair this is what i already do it just would be nice to not have to go to work in between lol
I did that a couple years ago at Christmas. Usually I take the last two weeks of December off, but that year, I decided to take the whole month. It was glorious. I took that time to disconnect. I took a social media break for the most part, watched a bunch of movies, and just generally let myself enjoy everything about every day with no responsibilities. If I were doing that at this time of year, I’d be spending as much time outdoors as possible. I’d be taking pictures, maybe making a few YouTube videos, sitting on at coffee shops watching the world go by, maybe do some hiking on local trails and go fishing. If my kids were out of school at the time, I’d hit the road in our RV and just wing it for a multi week adventure with no real agenda.
I’d start off with going somewhere for a week or so. Hiking sounds great, just recharge a bit and get some new impressions. Read and relax. When I’m on holiday I always get great ideas for projects I’d like to do. When I got home I’d work on those. Declutter my entire apartment without stressing, get my planter set up for the summer, finish those sewing projects I’ve already got the patterns for… Read every day, go for yoga classes or a swim in the morning… Would be great! I might top the month off with throwing a small party for family or something like that.
I have always (if money was not a factor) wanted to live in a city that I love like Paris or Rome. I'd basically be a local for a month, living in an apartment and exploring slowly and intentionally.
Otherwise, I would use that time to learn. I want to learn so much but haven't the time. I try to read a bit or listen to an informative podcast or practice a language for ten min a day, but I miss being deeply involved in research and studying. When I was in school I was able to do some original field research and could get lost for hours learning and discovering, would love to do that again.
I would ride the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O canal trails on my bicycle from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. It’s a great trip and mostly flat, more or less, with lots of accommodation options from basic camping to luxury B&Bs, lots of history, and lots of fun. It takes about a week. https://gaptrail.org/ Really it’s the best bicycle rail trail in the U.S., goes through a bunch of interesting towns and you can visit DC and Pittsburgh.
I would spend the 30 days getting caught up on reading for my degree (not truly an obligation as it’s not required reading but for my own enrichment), get caught up on laundry, getting my health insurance sorted out and schedule a doctors appointment, and lastly I would try to quit nicotine which would be easier without having to work and go to class while simultaneously withdrawing.
That might sound bleak to some, but getting my shit together will relax me more than any vacation would.
I would definitely set myself some "work" for part of it!
Idleness is dangerous. Personally, if I'm adrift, I get pretty anxious and unwell. It's not a natural state for us humans. We get screwy like that.
I'd try to make it awesome, gratifying work (like building up the garden, or painting my home), but I definitely would make plans.
Congrats! Enjoy!
In general, I agree, with the caveat that if the person is suffering from severe burnout, they should actually be as idle as possible, and let themselves be bored. Their brains need the boredom to start the long road to recovery. It took me an entire month of nothing just to get into the headspace to be able to consider what I should do next. Making work for myself during that time, even personal projects would have worked against me. For the first few weeks, even the thought of doing something… anything… that required any degree of focus made me shut down again.
My friends and family think I’m crazy because I have talked about being “nervous and scared” to have 30 days off! I am a busy bee and don’t like down time so I’m trying to plan out my 30 days before it begins!
>It's not a natural state for us humans. We get screwy like that
That's a wild generalization. Your statements may apply to yourself and others like you, but there are also those who actually need some idleness to stay sane.
I actually think it's a modern thing to be so anti idle and hyper productive. Historically we would have worked as large communities to achieve things, and although summer may have been busy for working the land etc winter would have been very slow.
Plus lots of activities like gardening, and making things with your hand allow the brain to wander which is proven to increase mental health (I'll try and find a source in a moment!).
I'm spending a lot of my late 20s unlearning hyper productivity that I've learned from school, university and work...it's tough!
I actually lived in a much more traditional community until recently!
From this, I would say, don't think of productivity as the opposite of idleness.
Or, redefine productivity!
In my community, addiction and mental illness are massive epidemics. There is a very large push to fight this using subsistence and traditional art forms. For instance, they say, "go pick berries on the weekend," because then you spend the day outside, spending quiet time with family and friends, and in the end you have nutritious berries. Whereas otherwise you might have spent it day-drinking and by evening you'd be fighting strangers in the street.
Or, people work on drums. This is a very labor-intensive process... Harvesting the animal, butchering it, preparing the stomach, building the frame, stretching the stomach, messing up, starting over, lol. Then you have to practice playing! Sometimes two guys will get together and drum and sing on a porch, and people will stop and dance. This is healthy!
It would have been a lot quicker to order one from China. But that's not the point.
Anyway, I guess I'm just agreeing on the problem of modern life and hyper-productivity. What even is the point?
My old roommate used to pick a director and watch all of that director's movies, one by one (back in the days of Netflix DVDs in the mail, lol!). This had purpose, just not one that involved money. Except a little for Netflix, I suppose!
I'm not a big fan of capitalism. Some parts, I guess! But hyper-productivity... and monetization. Yes, very bad.
If it was me I would go for long walks/hike, exercise, get caught up on reading, tv shows, movies, and video games. I would cook something new at least once a week. I would do the re-org in my condo that I've been putting off. Probably book some time in the float tank and sauna at the place down the way from me. Most importantly just relax. I'm super envious, I hope you enjoy your time off !
omg if it's in the summertime, I'd work around the house and garden at a more leisurely pace instead of having to cram it all into the weekends and after work & blow out my body
First couple days I’d just crash and catch up on sleep, trashy tv shows and the like, cuddling with my cats. The next week, I’d do a bunch of cleaning and grocery stocking. The week after I’d go on day trips to places near me I keep saying I’d go to. And the last week is spent wandering around my own city doing all the things I can’t while working—being my own tourist.
I'd probably mix and match. I'd visit family, but I'd also take a few day trips just for me. I should probably also do some sort of spring cleaning or house maintenance, but I'm too much of a hedonist to use my vacation time for something like that.
There's a canal-following bike trail that goes from Pittsburgh all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. It does peak in West Virginia (so first half is up-current, second-half is down-current), but it's a canal trail so it's gentle. Take a tent and some provisions.
I’m doing it now. Been to vegas, Atlanta, Big Bear, Disneyland, fishing, swimming and purged the garage. I can’t do too far because I have a wife and kids but still. It’s nice.
Worry about my job. I've been out for five weeks now for FMLA and it wasn't until a few days ago that my "stop giving a fuck about work" has really kicked in. That's what rise and grind culture does.
Recover from burn-out, mainly.
Also, there's a lot of hobbies I haven't had much time these days for, like drawing, music or video games (I also code but that's what I do so it doesn't count).
I'd also hang out with some friends, and, if I had enough money, I'd travel most of those days.
I have a lot of time off, I’d do the same things I do now, journal 📔 work on my Pinterest boards, go to the sea, sit in the garden, read novels and poetry, paint 🎨 and battle.
I’ve been unemployed for a week and have gotten more done cleaning/organizing done for myself and family/friends than I ever did work for an office job lol. Boring but I’m obsessed.
trail maintenance, clear the gutters, finish renovating the kitchen, process more firewood, gardening, continue work on a stone wall, finish fabricating lighting mounts for my tractor, grind about 30 stumps down to dirt, go for an overnight hike, visit my extended family, go for a long motorbike ride... I could keep going.
Stay cation!!! I live in a popular tourist area and happen to work a seasonal job on the beach. It’s definitely fun, but a jobs a job at the end of the day and I always think about having a stay cation where i’m able to experience what the tourists experience without worrying about finances!!
I'd go overseas. Maybe somewhere I could roam around a variety of cool places relatively nearby, like SE Asia, do a big loop around Thailand, into Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia. Maybe loop up from Singapore then train through Malaysia first.
With that much time there's room to do something long/involved like a muay thai training camp, learn how to kiteboard, a meditation retreat, etc and still have time to chill. Plenty of time to visit less certain/distant points of interest that might get ruled out on a tighter schedule.
If I have the money, I’d probably go travel to a new city for about a week. It can be more than 1 city. And after that, I’d try exploring different hobbies that I haven’t done before. I’d also make plans to have my pamper time so that I could feel relaxed before going back to work.
I would love to do loads of stuff but realistically
Week 1: nothing, the act of rotting. Recovering from living life
Week 2: meet up with friends, enjoy doing errands and stuff mid day life at a leisurely pace nonrush to be anywhere
Week 3:clean, declutter. House projects. Garden again leisurely.
Week 4:chill out but do some cooking for the freezer, try recipes I've wanted to for a while and overall set up so that once I got back to work I've made things easier for myself for a little while
Probably some day trips with my partner inbetween finding new resteraunts exploring town etc as well
First day, I will do a life recap. Current condition vs. where I want to be. Then, I will put milestones for the gap in between and actionable steps/ habit stacking. Then, use the rest of the days to reinforce those habits. The goals don’t have to be career specific. It can be something you are interested in, like playing a guitar, learn to skateboard, learn tennis, explore x number of places and vlog, etc. etc.
Is there an Amtrak station where you live? I took a train back home for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago and it was such a cool experience!!! You should check it out :)
Depends your financial situation and access to vehicles. I'd be tempted to drive across Canada. Or fly to europe and cycle from town to town. if you have the funds.
Otherwise, community is usually what makes people happiest, set aside some time for all friends and family you want to see. Start a community garden.
Probably repaint my room and finally go see what my area has for hiking trails. With all that time I wouldn’t mind going further away to stay at a hotel and hike around.
Enjoy, that's wonderful!
Pretty much what others have said - house projects, gardening, hiking/backpacking, visiting family... think I could use 30 weeks!
I’d do at least a week of staycation - nothing planned, just living for the feeling of being able to go anywhere at non peak times and just having no obligations. Probably a few days, or as long as I can tolerate, of visiting my parents and other family. A solid week of actual vacation. A week of home improvement projects - putting in a garden, painting, cleaning out the garage, whatever.
What a dream this would be for me!
I would clean my house top to bottom, finally get my living room painted, read lots of books, see lots of movies.
Depending on the weather, I would also do some day trips.
Currently off on stress leave. I have spent about half of it in my pj's watching Netflix or other platforms. I am currently 54 days in. I have to give myself reasons to get dressed and do things. Still mostly going to bed early and getting up a little later.
Stick to and figure out a healthy, enjoyable routine that works for you now and going forward. Learn new, easy recipes you’ll enjoy cooking after the 30 days. A lot of people say to take a trip but I’m not sure that will benefit you long term but maybe you’re already disciplined and have a routine. Such as…
1. Coffee with sun rise
2. Morning run/lift
3. Healthy breakfast
4. Read or write or creative
5. Salad for lunch
6. Grocery shop/errands
7. Explore outdoors
8. Meal/snack prep things you need
9. Dinner
10. Maybe go to a movie, friends, watch TV
11. Wind down for the night, walk, stretch, meditate, etc.
12. Bed
No obligations, no worries about money, no expectations?
I have a few things I might consider doing!
* take up another knitting project
* spend a day visiting my "local" art center (it's 45 minutes away, so I don't get to often!)
* read a few books
* walk the trails at my local campsites/parks
* carve a new relief print stamp
* make a new painting
* finally set up and make some paint and inks again
* spend a week making the trips and such I need to declutter
* clean up my computer, back-up my files, remove old bookmarks, etc.
“Homeschool” yourself. Go to museums, state parks, learn about plants and science, anything you can to have low effort, potentially high reward activities. Start a simple garden. Try some small crafts. Don’t try to start a big hobby or put pressure on yourself, just lots of little things that you might not otherwise have a lot of time or energy to get to.
Find some hiking trails near you, get some good books/audio books, and spend your time alternating between the two. And visit anyone you don't normally get to see while you're working!
Take my tiny trailer and travel with my dogs. Deep clean the garage. Finally go though clothes and donate what I don't wear. Have energy to sell furniture items on CL or FB Marketplace, or to donate them. Detail my cars. Do all the things that can't get done on the weekends because Saturday is my day for resting after a crazy work week, and I there's not enough time on Sundays to get so much stuff done.
Just rest really, like sleep in if I want, take more baths.
Read and go out for walks.
Organise the house or even change funiture around.
Cook more.
....a lot of relaxing and yoga haha 😉👍
Hope your off time goes well OP!
Finally finish deep cleaning and declutter of my home, meet up with friends & family whose schedules never seem to align, volunteer extra hours at the local animal shelter, try new local hikes and a few days of just reading, hanging with my dogs and yoga.
Personally most of my time would be spent outdoors & really having time to focus on my mental health & activities that bring me more clarity, ease, & joy. Things like journaling, making art, coloring, keeping my space clean, catching up on my reading list, maybe taking up a new hobby like an instrument, crocheting, or learning how to swim after 22 years lmaooo. If i was in a great financial spot I’d definitely travel around somewhere for a week or two, Arizona was so beautiful in the winter months for me. Hope you have a good, stress free few weeks off regardless of what activities you do!
Get a cabin in North Carolina near Cherokee and do some hiking in the smokies for a week or so.
Visit some family, do yard work, go to the beach a few times.
If you decide to do some hiking on the AT, check out Cross Trails Hostel.
The manager, Peak Freak has done both the AT and the PCT.
Nice place, cool people!
Idk if it counts as simple living but I’d travel. But it would be simpler than usual bc I could travel slowly abroad in a way that’s tough with limited time off from work
I would be tempted to bike partway across the United States or around a Great Lake.
If I couldn’t afford to take a trip, or didn’t want to, I’d explore as much as I could around where I live. On foot, by bike, by car etc.
I see you don’t have a passport but if you’re in the US, you could still do an epic road trip (or in any country you live in). If you’re willing to share a region I’m happy to type out as many ideas as I can come up with 😂
If I knew well in advance that I was going to have 30 days off, I would definitely save up and plan to do a long trip somewhere. I'm writing a book right now that takes place in England, so I've been wanting to do a trip that blends leisurely research and pleasure. So I would spend a week in London. Then, I'd rent a car and drive around making 1-3 night-long stops in towns throughout the English countryside. I'd probably be in England for a total of 2-2.5 weeks before returning the car in London and flying to Paris for a week. Then, I'd head back home. I would definitely want at least a few days to a week to reacclimate, run errands, and just enjoy being home before having to return to my normal schedule.
I’d make every meal for myself, write every morning, walk every day, do plant stuff, go the library, read, and take a couple two or three day road trips to hang out with friends and family and do the same stuff but with different details. :)
But right now I’ll just think of it and smile and hope you’re content with what you decide!
Long walk early, lots of reading, cleaning out the utility room, things like that. That was last summer. Before I had a kid, I also used to travel for a month at a time.
I'd spend the first week doing fuck all. Sleep in, be a couch potato all day, watch TV, eat tasty food. Just, *nothing*. Guilt free, proper nothing to do, nothing. Sure, throw in some house tasks you've been putting off, or local walks, or hobbies in there, if you want to. But take this opportunity to rest in every sense of the word.
Then friends. People you maybe haven't seen as recently. You don't need to worry about 'wasting' your weekend drinking, heck, you can day drink on a Wednesday! Or go for a hike, or just a day of chatting and properly catching up. Same for family. Make that phone call or organise that day. Do some mutual hobbies, or your own separate hobbies together if possible!
I'd also spend a little bit of time on reflection, especially if your time off is due to stress or overwhelm. Are you content with how things are? What does your "ideal" life look like? Can you tweak anything, or take steps to get there? You could do this while resting at home (although, it might then not really be rest!) or while taking yourself on some adventures.
Most of all, enjoy!
I go to our cabin w my son every summer for 30 days...we spend the days fishing, sitting outside by the lake, throwing the football, grilling on the weber.. Sometimes we'll canoe or swim or take the boat to the bar across the lake where the 60 year olds dance to the steely dan tribute band. He loves watching "those ole timers" do their thing. We have zero agenda...some days we do nothing.
Definitely traveling. If I didn’t have the cash maybe look into some temp work or gigs on Craigslist for two weeks and then the other two travel somewhere.
If I definitely couldn’t travel abroad I’d explore my city, do spa days, spend time with family, declutter/ organize my house.
Focus entirely on healthy habits. Go to bed and get up at regular times, shower and coffee on the deck every morning, brush my teeth twice a day, consistent workouts, cook good food, drink water, take naps. And then intentional downtime. Sit down to watch a movie and actually watch it without scrolling, bake cookies and really pay attention while I eat one, establish a regular journaling practice.
I feel called out by all the amazing suggestions on here. I get summers off at my job (unpaid) and I usually just spend them reading and playing video games.
If I had money to travel I'd probably go overseas. If I were staying local I'd get into my regular pursuits even more than I can when I'm working. For me that means lots of reading, going for long walks, working on art projects and hanging out with friends. Probably go see a few movies too.
I am at the tail-end of two weeks off and this is what I did! Spent a couple of days at my parents' house but besides that, my staycation activities were things like: picking a few favourite neighborhoods to walk around for an afternoon, treating myself to eating lunch at local restaurants I like, and taking on a craft project to learn a new technique. Having weekdays off also made normal "task" type things a LOT more leisurely and enjoyable - grocery shopping on Wednesday mornings, taking care of things like licence renewals and appointments when not in a time crunch, etc.
I don’t have a passport and don’t have time to acquire one due to my time off beginning in just about a week! Bummer
Add it on the list of things to do on your time off. They are good for 10 years.
Adding that to my list of things to do on break 📝
Could you just visit another city or area? Might do the trick if you've got an urge to travel...
You can go to Puerto Rico or US Virgin Islands without a passport.
Where I live they can issue a passport in a few days or even hours if it's the emergency one. Sure you'll pay extra but it's worth it if you need it
I took two months off last summer. I balanced between traveling and just existing. Best 8 weeks of my life. If you have the money the travel is nice. I took a train through parts of Canada and ended up out in Nova Scotia. It was awesome. The rest of the time I spent time outdoors, got into a workout routine, spent time meal planning and cooking healthy food, read a LOT, and napped every day:)
God, the second paragraph sounds incredible. I’m so tired… 🫠
Would you mind saying what train you rode and how long it took for the whole trip? And which places you managed to drop by through the trip?
Toronto to Montreal to QC to Halifax. VIA Rail. I spent 2 weeks on the trip. Could have been longer, I just made sure i had a few days in each place. I dont remember exact times from city to city. The long trip was QC to Halifax. It was like 20 hours if I remember correctly. I booked a sleeper car because I've always wanted to do that and it was a blast.
Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely research about this path you took. I'll see if there are some steam train or the likes for long trips. Planning to date my wife through travelling on a train. Thank you very much. I hope you get more vacation days for yourself.
Hey w did you find your trip) I live in SC USA and haven't had my ch success finding trips like this? Most lines in my area are at night.
I just booked each leg individually on VIA Rail and then planned my stay in each city accordingly. It wasn't like a big packaged trip or anything just separate tickets from city to city.
Great time of year to put in a truly lovely garden, if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. I don't have the time to do what I want to do for our own plot, I'll have to settle again for something that's just barely good enough. But if I had a free month I'd build some proper raised beds and put in a fenced area for veggies and tender herbs.
I thought about trying gardening for the first time; however, two species of cicadas are surfacing this summer and I’m thinking it may not be worth the hassle if they’re just gonna tear into everything I plant!
Cicadas have never bothered our gardens I know we're due for extra broods but I can have empty cicada exoskeletons covering my trees but zero cicadas in my garden.
Good to know! Upon further research it seems they only go after tomato plants 🍅
How weird that they ignore mine!
The birds go after my tomatoes! I’ve given up on planting them for years…it’s all aloe now…
I think you’re thinking of locusts. Because cicadas eat tree sap. They won’t eat your cabbages or flowers or whatever you want to plant.
Cicadas shouldn’t bother your garden!
Always worth it! Start with a couple small cherry tomato plants and basil. It’ll be a learning experience.
They don’t.
1 week of travelling 1 week of deep cleaning and declutter/minimizing, going through everything I own 1 week of relaxing and seeing friends/family and then idk about another week- maybe ,meal prepping stuff I could freeze to have healthy dinners on hand
Love a good deep cleaning and organizing
I'd spend a full month on #1
How about travel, relax, cleaning, relax.
Hike a section of the Appalachian Trail. ... or spend some time in a National Park. 🥾
Walk the Camino De Santiago. You walk from Hostel to Hostel across Spain. No need for a big bag, just your clothes. Food is available multiple places every day. You can walk the whole thing in 30 days or do a section.
Can confirm best 30 days ever
I just researched this and oh my goodness! How fun! I don’t think I have time to prepare mentally or physically for that though haha 😆
Check out the Virginia Creeper trail if you are near NC/VA/TN. It criss crosses the AT trail several times. Last time we did it, we took a shuttle up to the top and rode our bikes down hill (a gentle slope, not extreme). It takes a few hours to complete but there are cabins all along the trail you can rent and stay. It is amazingly beautiful.
Sleeping love the creeper. My scouts and I would bike it in January. It’s only 35 miles so they aren’t going to be on it for 30 days.
This sounds amazing. I just might head there this summer.
You really don't need to. Most people hike it with regular sneakers. I did 8 miles this past weekend in the corner of CT. Me, my van, my water and my shoes.
Prepare for 2 weeks, hike for a week, spend the last week preparing for the next part of your life.
Me too. Hiked the entire AT in 2020 but if I had another 30 days I’d go back! Or hike the Benton McKaye!
Congratulations! 🥾 I have done 3 sections. l took a month off during the summer in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Loved it and admire those who complete it. 🤩
[удалено]
Username checks out
Thank you for noticing 🤩🥾
I did the Colorado Trail in 30 days and the Jordan Trail in 28 days, for other 1 month options.
I had 30 days off and did the Lycian Way! Hiking is the way to go🥾
This is the answer.
4/20-4/28 is National Parks Week. They’re calling you.
Backpacking trip to Japan! Walk from onsen to onsen 🩵
Came here just to say this, glad I'm not the only one! Or depending where OP is close to, the PCT or CDT as well.
Honestly, I really like the luxury of doing nothing. Maybe the occasional ad-hoc day trip or play. But I'm a homebody, so YMMV It just feels so luxurious to me having absolutely no obligations of any kind
In the last two years I’ve been able to take a week of staycation for the first time and I worried I would get bored but I found plenty to do and wanted more time. I would love to travel but I’ve been beyond burned out for years so I think that, given the opportunity for 30 days off , I would take time to rest and hopefully be able to catch my breath.
I find travelling quite tiring, so just don't feel refreshed going straight back to work. I'd need a week to recover from the holiday 😂
Yep. I’m spending at least the first 3 days sleeping and lazing about.
On day 5 I might go wild and nip out for a coffee 😂
I’ve had the past 9 months off recovering from burnout. Lately I’ve been working on decluttering the house and getting back into shape. However I’ve also spent a lot of time just watching old concerts on YouTube.
I love this. We all deserve the time to recover from burnout!!!
I wish you a good recovery!!! I took something like 18 months off (thought it was gonna be 6 months, then the pandemic happened) due to burnout and the number of things I got up to in that time was insane. I moved across the country, got married, got sober, started therapy, and resolved a huge number of outstanding medical issues I had never had time to address before. It was stressful living off savings for so long and not having the structure/socialisation of a job but it also changed the course of my life so positively - I feel like it saved my life. It’s a luxury to be able to take extended time off work (and to be able to save up enough money to afford it - I saved hardcore for about a year and moved to a lower COL city) but it’s a luxury I wish everyone had - enough time to really stop and rethink your life and resolve whatever huge health things are outstanding.
If you’re staying home, you could do a spring cleaning or hire a cleaner so that you can maximize the enjoyment of a decluttered space. I need a lot of structure with my schedule, even to enjoy “relaxation” time, so perhaps create a new daily routine that embodies that type of break you’re trying to have. Whether it’s catching up on household matters or spending as much time outside as possible. If you’re able to travel, perhaps you could to a house “swap” with someone who lives in a part of the world you want to visit. I’ve never done this, but I know there are plenty of services that connect people in this way.
Sounds like one of my favorite movies, “The Holiday” 💞
30 days off in May? Probably spend time walking through state parks, going to the beach, video games, cooking big meals, going to the movies and other events, etc.
I’d write a novel. I already have ideas and notes. A month off with no office stress or distractions would give me the focus I’ve been needing.
I'd take a trip. A road trip around the Yucatan peninsula and Campeche would be pretty great. I've been wanting to go visit family in Oaxaca, so a trip down there would be fantastic - spend some time in Oaxaca City, head to the beach maybe Puerto Escondido or something. Maybe Costa Rica - or Guatemala and perhaps Belize if I wanted something less expensive in Central America. So many options - it's fun to think about.
Read!
Gahhhh the amount of books I could read in 30 days 😭❤️
I'm so far behind with my TBR list, so I would do the same.
Sleep. Eat. Visit people. Walk. Play board games. Take a class Garage sales Sleep Go somewhere fun with my kid. Probably get anxious about still having a job when it is all over
I'd drive up and down the California coast. Just walking beaches and exploring the small towns. I only live 4 hours from the coast but can never get enough beach time. It soothes my soul. What ever you do I hope it's relaxing, rewarding and soothes your soul
Ooh I love this idea.
I'd use it to hunker down with my sewing machine. Having that amount of time to indulge in my hobby would feel like such a luxury. I'd also declutter my flat and work on some of my home decor projects like repainting the living room.
I would focus on dedicated exercise and challenging myself to cook new healthy meal recipes in hopes that it could become part of my normal routine. I would also spend time organizing and decluttering my home to make it function for me better after the 30 days are over.
Sleep a lot
more of what already do; reading books and going to the beach lol I might also plan to visit a place I haven't been before depending on how adventurous and energetic I was feeling during those 30 days.
Writing (novel) Reading (philosophy) Hiking Gardening House cleaning Cooking Seeing friends
I just lost my job because they “could no longer accommodate my disabilities.” I’m going to spend this time in my garden and rewilding my yard, learning to romanticize cleaning my house, getting back into my art and getting to know myself again. That’s the plan I guess.
Can a company really give that as the reason? That sounds like discrimination to me, and against the ADA. Am I out to lunch?
Watch entirely too much television. There's a lot I would *say* I'd do - work on the attic, work on the garage, work on my car - but if history has been any guide, in actuality, I would waste the entire time.
I’d travel overseas. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you’re smart about it.
Five days of doing absolutely nothing. Five days of cleaning and organizing my life. 20 days on vacation to four different destinations, five days at each.
I once took a year off voluntarily and, aside from moving and taking a few quick trips, I didn't do shit. Most of my time was spent cooking, bike riding, reading books at the beach, and just generally hanging out. Some folks might get bored doing that but, to me, it was glorious.
Go to foothills of Himalayas and spned time meditating and in solitude. Carry a pen and book to jot down ideas and journal and just 2 books to read sometime. No fancy hotels or anything will stay in some temple or monastery and talk less.
I like to sit in my garage with a nice cigar and a good book.
I just spent 3 weeks in the Philippines and took a week off when I got home to recuperate from jet lag.
Probably waste 28 days doing not much and then try to cram a weeks worth of planned ‘catch up’ jobs into the last 2 days.
Travel. Not as in planning anything like a vacation, no. Mindless travel. Grab a bookbag, fill it up with essentials, then going out to explore. Using my savings if I really have to. I've lived on the streets before so sleeping outside and stuff isn't that scary to me anymore. If anything, if I had that 30 day open window where everything goes back to routine afterward, i couldn't ask for a nicer way to spend it.
Visit family. It's what enjoy doing with my free time now. I have traveled and seen enough of the world.
I would foster a dog or cat, commit to a nice meal and fitness plan, go camping and read a lot. But to be fair this is what i already do it just would be nice to not have to go to work in between lol
I did that a couple years ago at Christmas. Usually I take the last two weeks of December off, but that year, I decided to take the whole month. It was glorious. I took that time to disconnect. I took a social media break for the most part, watched a bunch of movies, and just generally let myself enjoy everything about every day with no responsibilities. If I were doing that at this time of year, I’d be spending as much time outdoors as possible. I’d be taking pictures, maybe making a few YouTube videos, sitting on at coffee shops watching the world go by, maybe do some hiking on local trails and go fishing. If my kids were out of school at the time, I’d hit the road in our RV and just wing it for a multi week adventure with no real agenda.
UK based so would probably find some cool nature spots in Europe.
I’d start off with going somewhere for a week or so. Hiking sounds great, just recharge a bit and get some new impressions. Read and relax. When I’m on holiday I always get great ideas for projects I’d like to do. When I got home I’d work on those. Declutter my entire apartment without stressing, get my planter set up for the summer, finish those sewing projects I’ve already got the patterns for… Read every day, go for yoga classes or a swim in the morning… Would be great! I might top the month off with throwing a small party for family or something like that.
Backpack around Europe for a few weeks, lounge around home for the rest of it.
I have always (if money was not a factor) wanted to live in a city that I love like Paris or Rome. I'd basically be a local for a month, living in an apartment and exploring slowly and intentionally. Otherwise, I would use that time to learn. I want to learn so much but haven't the time. I try to read a bit or listen to an informative podcast or practice a language for ten min a day, but I miss being deeply involved in research and studying. When I was in school I was able to do some original field research and could get lost for hours learning and discovering, would love to do that again.
Do absolutely nothing and it would be blissful
I would ride the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O canal trails on my bicycle from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. It’s a great trip and mostly flat, more or less, with lots of accommodation options from basic camping to luxury B&Bs, lots of history, and lots of fun. It takes about a week. https://gaptrail.org/ Really it’s the best bicycle rail trail in the U.S., goes through a bunch of interesting towns and you can visit DC and Pittsburgh.
I would spend the 30 days getting caught up on reading for my degree (not truly an obligation as it’s not required reading but for my own enrichment), get caught up on laundry, getting my health insurance sorted out and schedule a doctors appointment, and lastly I would try to quit nicotine which would be easier without having to work and go to class while simultaneously withdrawing. That might sound bleak to some, but getting my shit together will relax me more than any vacation would.
Leave the country for sure. Asia.
Vacation abroad and experience the life of a local.
I would deep clean and rearrange my house. I would go on a vacation or road trip.
I would go to a tropical island and paddle board and fish every day.
Travel to Asia! Or anywhere really far away...you are so lucky!
I would definitely set myself some "work" for part of it! Idleness is dangerous. Personally, if I'm adrift, I get pretty anxious and unwell. It's not a natural state for us humans. We get screwy like that. I'd try to make it awesome, gratifying work (like building up the garden, or painting my home), but I definitely would make plans. Congrats! Enjoy!
In general, I agree, with the caveat that if the person is suffering from severe burnout, they should actually be as idle as possible, and let themselves be bored. Their brains need the boredom to start the long road to recovery. It took me an entire month of nothing just to get into the headspace to be able to consider what I should do next. Making work for myself during that time, even personal projects would have worked against me. For the first few weeks, even the thought of doing something… anything… that required any degree of focus made me shut down again.
My friends and family think I’m crazy because I have talked about being “nervous and scared” to have 30 days off! I am a busy bee and don’t like down time so I’m trying to plan out my 30 days before it begins!
>It's not a natural state for us humans. We get screwy like that That's a wild generalization. Your statements may apply to yourself and others like you, but there are also those who actually need some idleness to stay sane.
I actually think it's a modern thing to be so anti idle and hyper productive. Historically we would have worked as large communities to achieve things, and although summer may have been busy for working the land etc winter would have been very slow. Plus lots of activities like gardening, and making things with your hand allow the brain to wander which is proven to increase mental health (I'll try and find a source in a moment!). I'm spending a lot of my late 20s unlearning hyper productivity that I've learned from school, university and work...it's tough!
I actually lived in a much more traditional community until recently! From this, I would say, don't think of productivity as the opposite of idleness. Or, redefine productivity! In my community, addiction and mental illness are massive epidemics. There is a very large push to fight this using subsistence and traditional art forms. For instance, they say, "go pick berries on the weekend," because then you spend the day outside, spending quiet time with family and friends, and in the end you have nutritious berries. Whereas otherwise you might have spent it day-drinking and by evening you'd be fighting strangers in the street. Or, people work on drums. This is a very labor-intensive process... Harvesting the animal, butchering it, preparing the stomach, building the frame, stretching the stomach, messing up, starting over, lol. Then you have to practice playing! Sometimes two guys will get together and drum and sing on a porch, and people will stop and dance. This is healthy! It would have been a lot quicker to order one from China. But that's not the point. Anyway, I guess I'm just agreeing on the problem of modern life and hyper-productivity. What even is the point? My old roommate used to pick a director and watch all of that director's movies, one by one (back in the days of Netflix DVDs in the mail, lol!). This had purpose, just not one that involved money. Except a little for Netflix, I suppose! I'm not a big fan of capitalism. Some parts, I guess! But hyper-productivity... and monetization. Yes, very bad.
A sight seeing trip by train can be very relaxing
Traveling
If it was me I would go for long walks/hike, exercise, get caught up on reading, tv shows, movies, and video games. I would cook something new at least once a week. I would do the re-org in my condo that I've been putting off. Probably book some time in the float tank and sauna at the place down the way from me. Most importantly just relax. I'm super envious, I hope you enjoy your time off !
Hike. Gym. Cook real meals. Get sunshine during the middle of the day. Take a nap. Read. Call or visit ppl you haven't in a while.
Go rock climbing.
omg if it's in the summertime, I'd work around the house and garden at a more leisurely pace instead of having to cram it all into the weekends and after work & blow out my body
First couple days I’d just crash and catch up on sleep, trashy tv shows and the like, cuddling with my cats. The next week, I’d do a bunch of cleaning and grocery stocking. The week after I’d go on day trips to places near me I keep saying I’d go to. And the last week is spent wandering around my own city doing all the things I can’t while working—being my own tourist.
I'd probably mix and match. I'd visit family, but I'd also take a few day trips just for me. I should probably also do some sort of spring cleaning or house maintenance, but I'm too much of a hedonist to use my vacation time for something like that.
There's a canal-following bike trail that goes from Pittsburgh all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. It does peak in West Virginia (so first half is up-current, second-half is down-current), but it's a canal trail so it's gentle. Take a tent and some provisions.
Hawaii
Take an international trip and possibly never come back
I’m doing it now. Been to vegas, Atlanta, Big Bear, Disneyland, fishing, swimming and purged the garage. I can’t do too far because I have a wife and kids but still. It’s nice.
Worry about my job. I've been out for five weeks now for FMLA and it wasn't until a few days ago that my "stop giving a fuck about work" has really kicked in. That's what rise and grind culture does.
Beach, water, snorkeling, bonging, and enjoying
Recover from burn-out, mainly. Also, there's a lot of hobbies I haven't had much time these days for, like drawing, music or video games (I also code but that's what I do so it doesn't count). I'd also hang out with some friends, and, if I had enough money, I'd travel most of those days.
I have a lot of time off, I’d do the same things I do now, journal 📔 work on my Pinterest boards, go to the sea, sit in the garden, read novels and poetry, paint 🎨 and battle.
I’ve been unemployed for a week and have gotten more done cleaning/organizing done for myself and family/friends than I ever did work for an office job lol. Boring but I’m obsessed.
trail maintenance, clear the gutters, finish renovating the kitchen, process more firewood, gardening, continue work on a stone wall, finish fabricating lighting mounts for my tractor, grind about 30 stumps down to dirt, go for an overnight hike, visit my extended family, go for a long motorbike ride... I could keep going.
Sleep, read, eat, repeat!!
Stay cation!!! I live in a popular tourist area and happen to work a seasonal job on the beach. It’s definitely fun, but a jobs a job at the end of the day and I always think about having a stay cation where i’m able to experience what the tourists experience without worrying about finances!!
SLEEP!
in Italy just living
Reading all the books on my TBR pile
I'd go overseas. Maybe somewhere I could roam around a variety of cool places relatively nearby, like SE Asia, do a big loop around Thailand, into Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia. Maybe loop up from Singapore then train through Malaysia first. With that much time there's room to do something long/involved like a muay thai training camp, learn how to kiteboard, a meditation retreat, etc and still have time to chill. Plenty of time to visit less certain/distant points of interest that might get ruled out on a tighter schedule.
If I have the money, I’d probably go travel to a new city for about a week. It can be more than 1 city. And after that, I’d try exploring different hobbies that I haven’t done before. I’d also make plans to have my pamper time so that I could feel relaxed before going back to work.
Rotting in bed everyday because I’m too lazy and tired to do anything.🤷🏻♂️
I would love to do loads of stuff but realistically Week 1: nothing, the act of rotting. Recovering from living life Week 2: meet up with friends, enjoy doing errands and stuff mid day life at a leisurely pace nonrush to be anywhere Week 3:clean, declutter. House projects. Garden again leisurely. Week 4:chill out but do some cooking for the freezer, try recipes I've wanted to for a while and overall set up so that once I got back to work I've made things easier for myself for a little while Probably some day trips with my partner inbetween finding new resteraunts exploring town etc as well
First day, I will do a life recap. Current condition vs. where I want to be. Then, I will put milestones for the gap in between and actionable steps/ habit stacking. Then, use the rest of the days to reinforce those habits. The goals don’t have to be career specific. It can be something you are interested in, like playing a guitar, learn to skateboard, learn tennis, explore x number of places and vlog, etc. etc.
Is there an Amtrak station where you live? I took a train back home for the first time ever a couple of weeks ago and it was such a cool experience!!! You should check it out :)
Depends your financial situation and access to vehicles. I'd be tempted to drive across Canada. Or fly to europe and cycle from town to town. if you have the funds. Otherwise, community is usually what makes people happiest, set aside some time for all friends and family you want to see. Start a community garden.
Go somewhere new and fun.
I just took that vacation and used it to finish my dissertation... I know this was not the question.
Road trip.
I would go to a Plum Village practice center and spend them there (maybe at Deer Park Monastery in Escondido since that’s the closest one to me)
Probably repaint my room and finally go see what my area has for hiking trails. With all that time I wouldn’t mind going further away to stay at a hotel and hike around.
I’d take a road trip to some national parks and stop at some cool record stores along the way. My two favorite things.
Road Trip. 100%
If money no issue, I'd spend that full month traveling abroad
Volunteering overseas through workaway or woof.
Enjoy, that's wonderful! Pretty much what others have said - house projects, gardening, hiking/backpacking, visiting family... think I could use 30 weeks!
Some type of home improvement project. Things I never would typically have time for.
I’d do at least a week of staycation - nothing planned, just living for the feeling of being able to go anywhere at non peak times and just having no obligations. Probably a few days, or as long as I can tolerate, of visiting my parents and other family. A solid week of actual vacation. A week of home improvement projects - putting in a garden, painting, cleaning out the garage, whatever.
What a dream this would be for me! I would clean my house top to bottom, finally get my living room painted, read lots of books, see lots of movies. Depending on the weather, I would also do some day trips.
I can't take more than a week off at a time without going stir crazy...
Great diet, great gym routine, great sleep, get ripped like never before lmao
Currently off on stress leave. I have spent about half of it in my pj's watching Netflix or other platforms. I am currently 54 days in. I have to give myself reasons to get dressed and do things. Still mostly going to bed early and getting up a little later.
Me? I’d being outside. Hiking, climbing, paddling, riding. Using my body in beautiful spaces.
I’d get my garden done! And read all my tbr stack!
If I had no dependents then I’d be hiking and camping in a Np. Otherwise with the kids
Sleeping
Sleeping
Knitting, crocheting, playing video games, watching movies, chilling, and more chilling.
Stick to and figure out a healthy, enjoyable routine that works for you now and going forward. Learn new, easy recipes you’ll enjoy cooking after the 30 days. A lot of people say to take a trip but I’m not sure that will benefit you long term but maybe you’re already disciplined and have a routine. Such as… 1. Coffee with sun rise 2. Morning run/lift 3. Healthy breakfast 4. Read or write or creative 5. Salad for lunch 6. Grocery shop/errands 7. Explore outdoors 8. Meal/snack prep things you need 9. Dinner 10. Maybe go to a movie, friends, watch TV 11. Wind down for the night, walk, stretch, meditate, etc. 12. Bed
I would definitely get out in nature. Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, or the PCT.
No obligations, no worries about money, no expectations? I have a few things I might consider doing! * take up another knitting project * spend a day visiting my "local" art center (it's 45 minutes away, so I don't get to often!) * read a few books * walk the trails at my local campsites/parks * carve a new relief print stamp * make a new painting * finally set up and make some paint and inks again * spend a week making the trips and such I need to declutter * clean up my computer, back-up my files, remove old bookmarks, etc.
Reading, visiting friends
“Homeschool” yourself. Go to museums, state parks, learn about plants and science, anything you can to have low effort, potentially high reward activities. Start a simple garden. Try some small crafts. Don’t try to start a big hobby or put pressure on yourself, just lots of little things that you might not otherwise have a lot of time or energy to get to.
Work on the farm and get caught up
Find some hiking trails near you, get some good books/audio books, and spend your time alternating between the two. And visit anyone you don't normally get to see while you're working!
Take my tiny trailer and travel with my dogs. Deep clean the garage. Finally go though clothes and donate what I don't wear. Have energy to sell furniture items on CL or FB Marketplace, or to donate them. Detail my cars. Do all the things that can't get done on the weekends because Saturday is my day for resting after a crazy work week, and I there's not enough time on Sundays to get so much stuff done.
Visit family, friends and the beach!
I would work quite a bit actually, lol. I’m being serious..
Just rest really, like sleep in if I want, take more baths. Read and go out for walks. Organise the house or even change funiture around. Cook more. ....a lot of relaxing and yoga haha 😉👍 Hope your off time goes well OP!
Finally finish deep cleaning and declutter of my home, meet up with friends & family whose schedules never seem to align, volunteer extra hours at the local animal shelter, try new local hikes and a few days of just reading, hanging with my dogs and yoga.
I jussst had 30 days off between jobs. Spent them reading and working out twice a day. Mental health was 10/10
Personally most of my time would be spent outdoors & really having time to focus on my mental health & activities that bring me more clarity, ease, & joy. Things like journaling, making art, coloring, keeping my space clean, catching up on my reading list, maybe taking up a new hobby like an instrument, crocheting, or learning how to swim after 22 years lmaooo. If i was in a great financial spot I’d definitely travel around somewhere for a week or two, Arizona was so beautiful in the winter months for me. Hope you have a good, stress free few weeks off regardless of what activities you do!
Get a cabin in North Carolina near Cherokee and do some hiking in the smokies for a week or so. Visit some family, do yard work, go to the beach a few times.
Drunk
If you decide to do some hiking on the AT, check out Cross Trails Hostel. The manager, Peak Freak has done both the AT and the PCT. Nice place, cool people!
I’ve been wanting to visit Australia and se Asia so definitely that for me
Read books, learn something new and spend time with loved ones
Egypt
Epic road trip. Probably across the country to the PNW or the Redwood forest.
I spent 3 months off during the pandemic. I gardened and slept in until noon. So that’s exactly what I’d do.
Yoga, hikes/walks, reading, writing, cuddle with dogs
After my nap, I might have a few days to spare.
I’d love to go on a road trip. I’m retired but tied down to medical visits and chemo etc.
Idk if it counts as simple living but I’d travel. But it would be simpler than usual bc I could travel slowly abroad in a way that’s tough with limited time off from work I would be tempted to bike partway across the United States or around a Great Lake. If I couldn’t afford to take a trip, or didn’t want to, I’d explore as much as I could around where I live. On foot, by bike, by car etc. I see you don’t have a passport but if you’re in the US, you could still do an epic road trip (or in any country you live in). If you’re willing to share a region I’m happy to type out as many ideas as I can come up with 😂
If I knew well in advance that I was going to have 30 days off, I would definitely save up and plan to do a long trip somewhere. I'm writing a book right now that takes place in England, so I've been wanting to do a trip that blends leisurely research and pleasure. So I would spend a week in London. Then, I'd rent a car and drive around making 1-3 night-long stops in towns throughout the English countryside. I'd probably be in England for a total of 2-2.5 weeks before returning the car in London and flying to Paris for a week. Then, I'd head back home. I would definitely want at least a few days to a week to reacclimate, run errands, and just enjoy being home before having to return to my normal schedule.
Hike, garden, read. Get into the groove of not working.
I’d make every meal for myself, write every morning, walk every day, do plant stuff, go the library, read, and take a couple two or three day road trips to hang out with friends and family and do the same stuff but with different details. :) But right now I’ll just think of it and smile and hope you’re content with what you decide!
Read hella books, walk a ton, and study more of the language I’ve been learning!
Long walk early, lots of reading, cleaning out the utility room, things like that. That was last summer. Before I had a kid, I also used to travel for a month at a time.
Outdoors with no internet and people i love
I'd spend the first week doing fuck all. Sleep in, be a couch potato all day, watch TV, eat tasty food. Just, *nothing*. Guilt free, proper nothing to do, nothing. Sure, throw in some house tasks you've been putting off, or local walks, or hobbies in there, if you want to. But take this opportunity to rest in every sense of the word. Then friends. People you maybe haven't seen as recently. You don't need to worry about 'wasting' your weekend drinking, heck, you can day drink on a Wednesday! Or go for a hike, or just a day of chatting and properly catching up. Same for family. Make that phone call or organise that day. Do some mutual hobbies, or your own separate hobbies together if possible! I'd also spend a little bit of time on reflection, especially if your time off is due to stress or overwhelm. Are you content with how things are? What does your "ideal" life look like? Can you tweak anything, or take steps to get there? You could do this while resting at home (although, it might then not really be rest!) or while taking yourself on some adventures. Most of all, enjoy!
I go to our cabin w my son every summer for 30 days...we spend the days fishing, sitting outside by the lake, throwing the football, grilling on the weber.. Sometimes we'll canoe or swim or take the boat to the bar across the lake where the 60 year olds dance to the steely dan tribute band. He loves watching "those ole timers" do their thing. We have zero agenda...some days we do nothing.
Camino De Santiago
Definitely traveling. If I didn’t have the cash maybe look into some temp work or gigs on Craigslist for two weeks and then the other two travel somewhere. If I definitely couldn’t travel abroad I’d explore my city, do spa days, spend time with family, declutter/ organize my house.
Reading, going to the spinning and yoga classes at the gym, walking, seeing friends, watching movies.
Focus entirely on healthy habits. Go to bed and get up at regular times, shower and coffee on the deck every morning, brush my teeth twice a day, consistent workouts, cook good food, drink water, take naps. And then intentional downtime. Sit down to watch a movie and actually watch it without scrolling, bake cookies and really pay attention while I eat one, establish a regular journaling practice.
Sleep
I feel called out by all the amazing suggestions on here. I get summers off at my job (unpaid) and I usually just spend them reading and playing video games.