Happiest when planning a vacation.

Planning makes me happy. Knowing how my week is going to be gives me assurance that I will get necessary tasks done(thank you Google calendar). Now that I am working a full-time job, what better to do than daydream- or better yet, plan out- an entire vacation or even a staycation? Combining the words "stay" and "vacation", this newest trend (so new the spellchecker thinks it is wrong) is staying close to home while relaxing and being touristy.  It doesn't matter if I actually take this trip; the process of daydreaming and itinerary-planning is exciting enough.

Bora-Bora, picture from National Geographic

Recent studies agree. Most happiness from vacations is derived from planning and anticipating the trip, not during the actual vacation(you may be stressed or homesick) or even after returning.

A 2010 study of 1530 Dutch individuals (974 vacationers and the rest non-vacationers) found that while vacationers are generally happier than non-vacationers, their happiness from the trip is temporary for about two weeks before returning to pre-trip levels (eight weeks). In addition, the length of the vacation had no correlation with the amount or length of happiness derived from the vacation. This implies that given limited number of vacation days, people should take shorter vacations more often. The vacationers were thought to be happier due to their anticipation of the trip, and perhaps from memories associated with the trip. Nawijin et al, Vacationers Happier, But Most Not Happier(2010)

Vacation taken around week 35, Nawijin et al

In another study, dreaming of a fictional future vacation(all-expense-paid ski vacation) brought on more positive emotions than dreaming of a fictional past one, indicating that there is power in anticipating a positive future event. Van Boven and Ashworth, 2007

De Bloom believes that happiness from vacationing comes from 1) being free of regular responsibilities and 2) being able to engage in enjoyable activities. It is also conjectured that the high level of stress after vacations may be due to the catch-up work that inevitably follows vacation. De Bloom et al, Vacation from Work. Lesson? Do your work ahead before leaving for vacation, so that the afterglow happiness from your trip can last longer. When you're on vacation, turn off your smartphones. Not only take a break from the hectic work schedule, but actively pursue activities you enjoy.

I may understand why Appa used to plan out detailed itineraries(hour by hour), make pretty documents with clip art images, and hand them out to us before family road trips. These were days before portable DVD players or iPod's, so we would make family mix tapes and play word games on the road!