The case for the four-day weekend (and why you should take it).

I slipped away to Paris for four days, and it was exactly enough.

My strongly held, unsolicited advice: take the long weekend getaway, even the short, imperfect one.

 For those of us with full calendars and even fuller lives, it’s easy to think meaningful travel has to wait for “someday”…when there’s more time, more space, fewer demands.

I don’t think that’s true.

A few weeks ago, I slipped away to Paris for four days. Not a long trip. Not a sprawling itinerary. And certainly not unplugged… my work in travel means I’m always seeing, learning, and refining.

But here’s what struck me: it was exactly enough.

Enough time to reset.
Enough space to think clearly again.
Enough “different” to re-energize me.

By the last evening, I felt complete. Like I had gotten what I came for. And I was ready to come home.

That’s the power of the long weekend. It’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing just enough, intentionally.

I zipped around town on a private tour in a vintage Citroen. I explored neighborhoods I hadn’t been to. I toured hotels and museums that were new to me.

But my learnings were not just professional, they were also life lessons. For busy professionals, leaders, and anyone navigating a lot right now, this is the unlock: You don’t need two weeks. You need a plan that works.

Four days. The right flight. The right hotel. The right pace.

I am committing to a four day weekend getaway every other month. Because this trip reminded me that its what feeds my soul and make everything else in my “normal” daily life possible.

My unsolicited but strongly held advice: take the trip. You deserve it, and more than that, you NEED it.

Sometimes life has other plans.

And when it does, the things we intend to do…like keeping up with a perfectly paced newsletter…fall by the wayside.

Since November, life (and family) has required just about every minute of my time. Important things. The kind of things you don’t question. But still, a lot.

And when everything feels full, I find myself going back to the one thing that has always reset me: travel.

Not the big, two-week, perfectly orchestrated trips (though I love those too). But the smaller ones. The ones where you just go.

A few weeks ago, I slipped away to Paris.  Just for a long weekend (think about it: non-stop flights from MSP make this easier than some domestic trips!)

Now, travel for me these days is rarely just vacation. It’s walking hotel corridors with a critical eye, meeting guides and partners, testing experiences, always asking: Would my clients love this? Could I make this even better?

But here’s the thing: I’m incredibly lucky. This work gives me energy, it doesn’t drain it.

So even though I was “working,” four days in Paris felt like exactly what I needed. I wandered without an agenda.  I shopped (a lot – they don’t call it retail therapy for nothing!). I took some off-the-beaten-path tours that I’d never taken before – zipping around town in a vintage Citroen and combing through the Marches aux Puces with the help of an expert.

And somewhere in between the meetings and the scouting, I felt that shift—the exhale I really needed. 

What I’d share with you:

Not every trip needs to be long to be meaningful. Four days was enough. By the last night, I had enjoyed myself but was ready to come home, recharged and clear again.  We often think travel has to be a big production to count.  It doesn’t.

And so, my unsolicited, but very strongly held, life advice: take the trip. Even the short one.  Even the imperfect one. Even the one you’re not sure you have time for.  You deserve it.  It feeds your soul and re-energizes you in ways both big and small.

And if you want someone to just book it all for you, with some light easy suggestions as well, just send me a note here, I’d be happy to!