The Un-Stressful Timeshare Vacation
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Last week Nell Merlino President & Founder, COUNT ME IN, wrote an article for American Express called: “5 Ways to Disconnect on Your Vacation.” Reading it made me wonder if people have always had trouble

relaxing on their vacations or if it is only an affliction of our modern lifestyle. When the 1960’s Dad and Mom piled the kids in the car to ‘see the USA in a Chevrolet,’ was Dad quietly stewing about what was going on back at the office? Did vacation owners in the previous generation battle stress during their timeshare vacation?
Nell Merlino made some very good points in her article saying that she personally sought the kind of vacations where she was not “tethered to some piece of technology.” She cited a 2005 study in the Wisconsin Medical Journal, which found, “… women who take vacations frequently are less likely to become tense, depressed or tired and are more satisfied with their marriages.”
Merlino acknowledges that untethering is difficult for most of us, but raises the very good point that if you can’t do it fully, at least try to do it partially and offers several suggestions including:
- Find something that is unique to the city you are in and explore it.
- Delegate the responsibilities back home and then trust the person in charge to be in charge.
- And take advantage of the holidays others typically take, i.e., July 4, Thanksgiving, and other traditional holidays. You’ll find it easier to stop working yourself if others are not working either.
Reducing Stress During Your Holiday or Timeshare Vacation
These are only three of several great suggestions made in the article. But I’d like to add one of my own: lose the guilt.
Assuming you work hard and carry out your responsibilities when you are at your job, don’t feel guilty for relaxing and enjoying some vacation time. Equally as important, don’t feel guilty when you do check in with your office or read your email. Checking your email once or even twice each day during your vacation may provide you the peace of mind you need to enjoy the rest of your day.
You might also want to pay attention to which day of your vacation is your “let go day.” Some people find they start to relax the moment they head for the airport but most of us can’t turn our business brains off and on that easily. Many people report that they are at day two, day three, or even day five before they really begin to upwind. Make your vacation time sufficiently long to get you into your unwind zone and to benefit from it.
And remember, many timeshare vacations no longer have to be taken in one-week intervals. Break up you vacation ownership or timeshare rental time into manageable increments that fit your schedule and your needs in ways that are comfortable to you.