The French have joie de vivre. Italians, dolce far niente.

In America? We’re always working.

I first stumbled upon the concept of The Daily Vacation while reading Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities, and the Pleasures of Solitude.

The author, Stephanie Rosenbloom, writes about the pleasure of solo travel, and mentions the daily vacation in the chapter "Ode to the West Village" as she recounts seeking a way to keep the travel mentality alive after returning home to ones own city.

Wanting to know more, I rented the textbook Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience by the original creators of the exercise, Fred Bryant and Joseph Veroff. Their research was in regards to savoring, “or the capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance the positive experiences in one’s life.” In the text, they present The Daily Vacation Exercise as a practice to enhance ones savoring by introducing it into their daily life, which in turn leads to an increase in overall happiness and well being.

Their Daily Vacation Exercise suggested that “each day for one week, plan and participate in a formal 'daily vacation' during which you spend time doing something you find enjoyable for at least 20 minutes.” They suggested seeking a variety of experiences and noted it could be anything from a walk at sunset, treating yourself to dinner or a coffee, or a quiet bath. The Daily Vacation would look different to each individual, the goal was to seek out experiences that brought you joy and look forward to.

In December 2020, I set out to take a daily vacation every day for a year to find that French joie de vivre; the exuberant enjoyment of life. This blog, along with my Instagram, highlights the daily vacations I have embarked on - some extravagant, many at home, and a few travels along the way.