How We Turned Travel Into a Lifestyle (Even at Home)

travel seasons

Jan 7

Written By Kelly W

As we settle into the idea of staying closer to home for this year’s Travel Season, we keep coming back to the one question that’s guided us on the road for years. It’s become our simple way to make space for what matters most and now, we’re hoping it’ll help us stay grounded in our Travel Season mindset even while exploring our own backyard.

The One Question That Helps Us Live Like We’re on Vacation

There’s a question we started asking ourselves on the road, and it’s one of our favorite decision-making tools: Would I do this during Travel Season?

It’s normal to feel pulled in many directions while traveling for months at a time. This question became a filter to help us distinguish between what actually matters and what can wait.

While on Travel Season (which, for us, was a 3 to 5-month road trip), we still work and handle our everyday responsibilities, but we prioritize differently. We treat fun, new experiences, adventure, connection, rest, and enjoyment like essentials, not afterthoughts.

After all, that’s why we’re on the road. We want to fully explore the various places we were in, and that means saying no to the things that would pull us out of that state of mind unnecessarily.

So now that we’re bringing the Travel Season home, we’re asking ourselves: Would I do this if I were in Alaska right now? Or Kanab? Or Winter Park?

If the answer is yes, great. It’s a required task. If the answer is no, then maybe it’s not urgent. Maybe it can wait or maybe it’s something we can let go of altogether.

Real-Life Examples of the Travel Season Filter

Here’s how this plays out in real life:

Yes, we’d pay the bills. Being on the road doesn’t mean pretending we don’t have certain responsibilities back home.
No, we wouldn’t spend Saturday reorganizing the garage. That’s an at home project, not a Travel Season priority. (On the road, you literally can’t reoganize the garage or work around the house!)
Yes, we’d still go to the doctor if we needed to. We take care of ourselves on the road and have sought medical help while traveling before. Doctor on Demand is our go-to for this, but sometimes we have to head to in-person urgent care, too.
No, we wouldn’t schedule three back-to-back dentist, car maintenance, and hair appointments for the same week. That’s maintenance-mode energy, not memory-making energy. We schedule maintenance appointments (like primary care check-ups, dental cleanings, oil & filter changes) for before or after Travel Season.
Yes, we work, but we don’t stay up until midnight if we don’t absolutely have to. We work full-time on the road but get creative with our schedule as much as possible. Sometimes, we’ll shift our day to allow for a sunrise hike, a sunset, or a timed activity. We’ll get up early or work late as needed so we can explore the area we’re in.
No, we wouldn’t stress-clean the kitchen while rushing to make dinner. Cleaning waits until check-out day and meals are kept simple: we either go out, order in, or just eat and worry about cleaning up later.

Let Travel Season Make the Decision for You

When we’re on Travel Season, decisions feel easier because they’ve largely already been made. We’ve committed to the idea that the next however many months are for travel and exploration, so yes, we go. Even if we worked all week. Even if we’re tired. The answer is still yes, because that’s why we’re here.

At home, that same decision feels harder.

We’ve lived in Dallas for almost 5 years, and only recently went to one of the best rated restaurants in the city. At home, it’s easy to say, “Maybe next weekend.” There’s laundry calling your name or always a couch and a Netflix queue sounding better.

A few months ago, we were debating whether or not to go to the Great Texas Balloon Race. If we were on Travel Season, we’d have booked tickets three months ago. But because we’re home, we caught ourselves saying, “Should we just wait and see if we feel like it? Maybe we’ll buy tickets at the door…”

The problem is, we know how that story usually ends. You wake up tired, so you push it off and say maybe next year.

That’s why we started asking ourselves this question even at home: Would we do this during Travel Season?

When the answer is yes, we go. We make the reservation, buy the tickets, hop in the car. It helps us go and do but also helps know what not to do… when we can leave the dishes in the sink or the laundry on the chair.

Creating a Travel Season Container

Here’s an important note that helps with this: You may need a container to make this feel good.

For us, it was the months we were on the road. We knew there was a clear boundary around that time and trusted that when Travel Season ended, we’d circle back to all the things we paused.

It was easier to say: Not right now. I’ll handle it later. Because “later” had a date.

This isn’t just helpful for errands and responsibilities; it’s also helpful for rest. Because sometimes you really do just want to stay home and watch Netflix, and that’s okay. Blowing up an air mattress in the middle of the living room for a movie marathon is one of our favorite weekend activities!

It helps us to decide in advance:

Will Travel Season be a month? Two months? A season, like fall or spring?
Is it just weekends during that time? Or maybe just Saturdays?
Will you include weeknights?

You might need it to remind yourself:

“For the next 6 weekends, I’m prioritizing joy.”
“This month is for adventure, not errands.”
“I’ll revisit that list in August, but not before.”

For us, Travel Seasons on the road were months-long road trips and meant weekends exploring, plus Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday after-work. We weren’t 100% rigid about this schedule, but it helped knowing in advance when we planned to go out and explore and when we were okay with a rest day.

Travel As a Lifestyle

One of the best things about vacation is forgetting about daily to-dos and responsibilities for a moment, and that’s what the Travel Season can help you bring into your year.

Here’s how to try it:

Pick a container for your own Travel Season, whether you can work from the road or are bringing the Travel Season home, like we’re doing right now. It can be a week, a weekend, a month, or an entire season.

Next, decide how far you’ll explore. What’s the distance-boundary for how far you’re willing to travel, or what’s the geographical area you want to explore during your Travel Season?

Once those are decided, write this question on a sticky note and put it on your fridge, desk, or bathroom mirror: Would I do this during Travel Season?

Then, ask yourself this question when you’re debating a decision!

Ask yourself when you’re planning evenings and weekends during your picked container. Use it when you’re in the middle of your Travel Season and tempted to say yes to a million obligations that don’t actually light you up. Use it when you need a reason to prioritize fun.

Let this simple question help you build a life that feels more like travel and vacation, not just when you’re far from home, but right where you are.