Last year in Spring, I was away for 3 weeks on a mini world tour with friends. In December, I spent 10 days in Haiti. This year, I already have a combined 2 weeks in Colombia and Greece under my belt. I'm about to add a week in Spain on my dashboard.
Would it surprise you if I said that I work a regular 9 to 5? What if I added that, because of operational needs, I cannot really take days off in June? This means that I am not yet able to join my peeps during the entire duration of the FIFA World Cup (I barely made the opening week when I went to Brazil) -- Qatar in 2022, though, I'm all for the competition being held in December *wink*.
This also means that I have 11 months in which I can take time off with a bit more ease.
It's important to note that not having kids is an advantage here. I don't have to worry about school schedule and babysitters. But I'm usually enrolled in a class of some sort. This term: 2 university courses and a swimming class.
Full disclosure. I accumulate 15 (business) days of vacation leave per year. I'm able to transfer some of them to the following year. I also work a compressed work week. I work longer hours in exchange for a day off (flex day) every 3 weeks. That's an extra 15 to 17 days off. Then come the statutory holidays. We have between 10 and 12 of then per year.
That's a total of 40 to 45 days off per year.
All I do is be really creative when I book my time off.
I try to make good use of long weekends. I use my vacation leave sparingly.
For example, I'll be in Spain for 10 days, but I'm only using 5 vacation days. The leftover days: 4 weekend days plus 1 flex day. My classes? I just really need to be really organized and hand my assignments ahead of time.
This is not a one size fits all formula. If you're self-employed, you may have to schedule your days off around your industry's down time. Parents may have to schedule around their children's calendar.
The key is to finds what works best for you. And to enjoy yourself, whether it be on vacation abroad or a quick weekend getaway nearby.