Picture this: You've booked every possible activity for your solo vacation, only to find yourself yearning for downtime in your hotel room. Does that ring a bell? This scenario is my recent reality in Sleepy Hollow, New York. From haunted houses to Jack O' Lantern shows, I fell into the overbooking trap and ended up learning a valuable lesson about the significance of relaxation and spontaneous moments. Tune in as I discuss how I managed to balance my zest for adventure with the need for rest.
Ever felt consumed by burnout? Well, you're not alone. On this trip, I grappled with burnout, not just from daily routines but also from my travels. I'll share some practical tips on identifying and combatting burnout, emphasizing the importance of mindful preparation and setting realistic expectations. As a cherry on top, I'll give you a sneak peek into the perks of being a part of the One Girl Travel Club and exciting news about our upcoming group trip to Italy in April 2024. Whether you're a seasoned solo traveler or taking your first steps, this episode is brimming with insightful advice, uplifting anecdotes, and an opportunity to embark on your own journey of self-discovery through solo travel - all crafted to inspire you!
If you enjoyed this episode of the One Girl Travel Podcast, then I invite you to follow me on Instagram. That's where all the fun is happening! @ONE_GIRL_TRAVEL
Picture this: You've booked every possible activity for your solo vacation, only to find yourself yearning for downtime in your hotel room. Does that ring a bell? This scenario is my recent reality in Sleepy Hollow, New York. From haunted houses to Jack O' Lantern shows, I fell into the overbooking trap and ended up learning a valuable lesson about the significance of relaxation and spontaneous moments. Tune in as I discuss how I managed to balance my zest for adventure with the need for rest.
Ever felt consumed by burnout? Well, you're not alone. On this trip, I grappled with burnout, not just from daily routines but also from my travels. I'll share some practical tips on identifying and combatting burnout, emphasizing the importance of mindful preparation and setting realistic expectations. As a cherry on top, I'll give you a sneak peek into the perks of being a part of the One Girl Travel Club and exciting news about our upcoming group trip to Italy in April 2024. Whether you're a seasoned solo traveler or taking your first steps, this episode is brimming with insightful advice, uplifting anecdotes, and an opportunity to embark on your own journey of self-discovery through solo travel - all crafted to inspire you!
If you enjoyed this episode of the One Girl Travel Podcast, then I invite you to follow me on Instagram. That's where all the fun is happening! @ONE_GIRL_TRAVEL
Welcome to the One Girl Travel Podcast, episode number 55.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to the One Girl Travel Podcast, your passport to the world of solo travel with certified life and travel coach, Alessia Tenebruso. Join Alessia as she shares her own journey of self-discovery through solo travel, while also focusing on topics such as life coaching insights and travel tips along the way. Now here's your host, Alessia Tenebruso.
Speaker 1:
Hello my friends, and welcome to One Girl Travel Podcast, episode number 55. And I'm here on a little solo travel getaway. I decided I wanted a change of scenery and I wanted to do some autumn activities. And I did that by going an hour away from where I live, up to Sleepy Hollow, new York. And if you're not familiar with Sleepy Hollow, that is where the Headless Horseman story originated. So, as you can imagine, there are plenty of fall festive activities here, and so I am staying for two nights and I'm just relaxing and doing what I want. And actually I booked too many things, I think, and I'm going to talk to you more about that in a minute. But yeah, I have tours booked, I have a haunted house booked, I have the Blaze of the Jack-o'-lanterns booked, so all the activities really trying to soak in as much autumn as possible before Halloween gets here, and then it's on to Christmas.
Speaker 1:
And apologies if the audio sounds a little different than usual. I didn't bring my big mic with me and my headphones weren't really working out, so I'm just recording straight to my computer speakers and it's not always the best quality, but we make do, because I wanted to get an episode out to you all since I did skip last week's, and the reason I skipped last week's was I was doing too much. I was feeling exhausted and overwhelmed and ultimately pretty burnt out. And that's the focus of the One Girl Travel Club this month is the burnout solution, because it is a very important topic, and if I'm feeling burnt out then I assume that many of you are also feeling burnt out, and my goal with the lesson in the One Girl Travel Club is to identify burnout and learn how to counteract it and to prevent it from happening in your everyday life and in travel. So, as I told you all, I am here on a little getaway and I was looking forward to relaxing, but then I got kind of caught up in the activities that are available here. I started booking a lot of things and now that I'm in my hotel room I'm thinking to myself I would like nothing more than to just stay in my hotel room, take a bath, have some wine and watch movies, but I have a haunted house booked and a recreation story of Sleepy Hollow, slash the Headless Horseman tonight. Darn, I wish I didn't book all these things, because tomorrow I have a pretty jam-packed day also. So even on vacation you can burn yourself out, especially if you're going into it feeling pretty burnt out already.
Speaker 1:
But before we go into travel burnout, I do want to remind you that if you are interested in joining the One Girl Travel Club, you can do it now. You don't have to wait for the beginning of the month. The information is all there. You get a year's worth of lessons and quarterly itineraries and coaching calls and behind the scenes when you sign up now. So you can go to onegirltravelcom and sign up.
Speaker 1:
And I also want to add in one more reminder that there is still one spot left for the One Girl Travel group trip to Italy in April 2024. So if that trip is calling to you, there's one spot left and I cannot wait to find out who gets that last spot. But this group of women that are going with me on this trip are all incredible. I personally know many of you already, so it's so exciting. We already had our first virtual meetup and we're going to have plenty more before the trip comes. So if this is something you're interested in, if you want to start solo traveling but you don't feel comfortable doing it completely on your own, or if you just want to go to Italy with me, then let's go Sign up Again. Go to onegirltravelcom and all the information is there for you.
Speaker 1:
So, as I said, I am an hour away from home in Sleepy Hollow, and this is also a reminder that you don't need to go on big leopard trips to get a feeling of a vacation or a reset or to practice your solo travel skills. Going an hour away from your home and exploring a new town or city or a state, if it's close by, is perfect. It is perfect for just getting away and getting a change of scenery and just doing whatever you want to do practicing your solo travel skills of eating by yourself and navigating and talking to people. It's such a great opportunity. So I don't want you to wait for the big moments and the big trips. Start doing it now. If there's something that you want to do, if there's an activity that you want to do, go, search and see where it is and then book it. Get started, stop waiting, stop finding excuses not to go places because it is as easy as booking a trip in the next town over and being a tourist in your own state, city, town, whatever.
Speaker 1:
So, anyways, now let's talk about burnout in travel. So the first step in avoiding and preventing travel burnout is to prepare mindfully Before you decide to go on a trip. It is really important to invest time to prepare for that trip, and when I say prepare, I mean do thorough research, but do not use research as an excuse to not get it done. I don't want you to be so overwhelmed when it comes to researching, but I want you to do your research. I want you to know where you're going and what you want to do, and also have an understanding of that destination, and I also want you to set realistic expectations for yourself and the trip.
Speaker 1:
Acknowledge that every single day of your journey doesn't need to be spoken for or full of activities. Allow yourself to just have downtime for relaxing and having organic moments, because it's those organic moments that typically are the most special ones, and you get to really learn yourself, what you like, what you dislike, and you get to be open to new opportunities and maybe even new people. And, honestly, I got caught up, like I said, in overbooking myself. But the thing with solo travel is you get to make your decisions. I might choose to skip the later event tonight. I'm deciding on it. I just bought the ticket this morning too. So I'm going to see if it's worth me skipping, if the cost of the ticket of me not using it is worth more than me just going back to my hotel relaxing. But I get to decide. I don't have to worry about other people's opinions on that. It's my trip. I get to decide what I do. So you get to decide what you want to do and how you want to do it.
Speaker 1:
Another great way to avoid and prevent travel burnout is to have a support system. So of course I recommend the One Girl Travel Club because you have a community of support right there for you and you have me supporting you and you can use our private Facebook group at any time to contact us. But just having those friends or family members that you can reach out to when maybe you're feeling overwhelmed, when you're on your trip or you just want to touch base with home to feel some comfort, it's always good to have that For me. Even though I love disconnecting when I'm traveling, I still always touch base with my family and with some friends and like to share photos of what I'm doing, when I'm doing it or where I am, because it just that connection feels good and it's going to be different for everybody. This is my personal feelings on it but I do believe having that support system does help ease your anxiety or anxiousness and allows you to really relax and be in the moment.
Speaker 1:
And, of course, being flexible is super important to avoid and prevent travel burnout. You need to allow yourself to embrace change, because you never know what's going to happen. You can't control certain situations. You don't know what to expect. For instance, I came up early today because I wanted to experience a stand-up paddleboard witch festival. So all of these stand-up paddleboarders were going to be dressed as witches. There was going to be a whole festival, but it was delayed until next week. So I walked all the way down to the water and I didn't see anybody. And then I checked the website and I saw they moved the date. So I had to learn to be flexible and figure out something else to do. And that's really important because if you get in your head about it, if you have these expectations of what you want to do and you're not open to other experiences, you're going to be disappointed. So just embrace flexibility and change when you're traveling and that will really help you. Just enjoy the moments. Enjoy the experience much more than setting expectations for every activity that you do.
Speaker 1:
The next tip is exactly what I was talking about earlier, where I said I really want to relax, have some wine, have a bath, rather than go out to the event I booked. So it's about balancing exploration and rest. So you need to prioritize your self-care when you're traveling. Yeah, I know you want to do all the things and see all the things and meet all the people and whatever, but you need to be the best version of yourself and the only way you can do that is if you're well rested, you're feeling good, you're taking care of yourself, you're making sure that you're wearing proper clothing that is comfortable for you and you're taking care of you know, if you have sore muscles, maybe go take a bath or get a massage. If you have a headache, go lay down for a little bit. If you're not sleeping, try to get to bed earlier. You need to take care of yourself, because if you're not feeling good when you're traveling, that is going to lead to burnout, because you are going to exhaust yourself and your body and ultimately, that is not going to be a good experience for you. And finally, the last step I'm going to leave you with today is learning and growing through travel to help you avoid and prevent burnout.
Speaker 1:
So I want you to be open to growth through challenges. If you come upon a challenge on your journey, how are you going to navigate it? How can you challenge yourself to overcome whatever hurdles are in your path? How can you come out stronger? And that means that you need to be self-aware, you need to be truthful to yourself, you need to be open to different possibilities other than your expectations and acknowledge just how you can navigate difficult situations to help you grow, because when you come out of a trip and yeah, a vacation is a vacation, right, it's so much more than that, especially when you're solo traveling it is about growth and it's about learning who you are and what you like, and challenging yourself. Challenging yourself is a big part of it. So if you can acknowledge that you are going to learn and grow from difficult situations, you are successful. You're not beating yourself up when things go wrong. You're allowing yourself to navigate the challenges and grow, and when you do that, it is going to ultimately make you stronger and also reduce and prevent your risk of travel burnout, and I just genuinely do not want to see any of you burnt out when traveling.
Speaker 1:
It's not fun that way. You don't want to have a. You don't want to need a vacation from your vacation when you get home. A vacation should be everything. It should be about adventure and exploring and growth and meeting new people and taking care of yourself and doing the things that you need to do to make you feel good. However that looks for you, it's going to look different for everybody, but I really want you to take these steps, take these tools with you when you're traveling to help you prevent the risk of burnout. Yes, again, you have to listen to your body. You have to listen to your gut. Don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed by all the things. Just go out and do what feels good for you. When it comes to solo travel, you get to decide. You get to decide how you show up, what you do, what you don't do, whatever. It's your experience. So I want your experience to be the best possible experience that you can have. So, my friends, until next week, I will speak to you then. Have a great day.
Speaker 2:
Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the One Girl Travel Podcast. If you're enjoying the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can find out more about your host on our website, onegirltravelcom, or follow her on Instagram, facebook, pinterest and TikTok. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll catch you in the next episode.