Need A Holiday? Here’s How You Could Win A 4-Night Ocean Escape
There’s a very specific kind of optimism that comes with booking time off work. The calendar gets blocked out, the countdown begins, and afternoons are spent dreaming of slow mornings, big sleep-ins, and the deeply ambitious idea that this will finally be the break where you switch off.
Truth is, more often than not, the reality looks a little different, with days away from your desk involving admin, emails and all the errands you don’t have time for when you’re working.
Which is exactly what Carnival Cruise Line is calling out. With help from radio host Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and NRL legend Sam Thaiday, Carnival is spotlighting just how little ‘time off’ is actually time off, and revealing how you can escape it entirely.
Welcome To The Time Off Trap
According to Carnival’s latest research, Aussies are stuck in what’s now being dubbed the Time Off Trap, with a wild 33% of our annual leave going straight into the endless black hole of life admin. Not sipping, not swimming, not switching off. Just chores, errands, emails, bills and that dentist appointment that you’ve been putting off for months.
Sound familiar? You’re in good company. More than half of working Australians admit they’re in the same boat, with millennials and those with little ones particularly deep in the trenches. Instead of feeling like a break, it’s a to-do list in disguise. Not much fun, if you ask me.
Why Switching Off Feels Impossible, And The Toolkit To Help You
It gets worse. More than half of Aussies reckon public holidays are the only time they can properly relax, purely because everyone else is off too. In a nutshell, we’ve unwittingly adopted the mindset that if your boss is online, you’re mentally online, too. It’s the modern-day curse of being chronically connected—there’s a good chance you’re still hovering over your email app, half-thinking about your to-do list or responding to not-so-urgent text messages.
In an effort to break the cycle, Carnival has dropped its digital, downloadable ‘Play Away’ toolkit, aka your official permission slip to stop being productive. Inside you’ll find a custom ‘Play Mode’ do-not-disturb setting, a tongue-in-cheek voicemail script for dodging calls, and other clever ways to gently tell the world you are, in fact, OOO.
How To Sail Off Into The Sunset Without Eating Into Your Annual Leave
Now for the fun part! Download the Play Away toolkit and you’ll automatically be in the running to win a four-night Carnival cruise departing from Sydney or Brisbane. Four whole nights where your daily schedules consist of laps of the buffet, dips in the pool, sunset bevvies, and absolutely zero inbox anxiety.
These short sailing adventures are intentionally built on minimal annual leave, maximum switch-off. Time it over a weekend and you’ll only be away from your desk for two working days, making it feel very achievable to dip out, disconnect and come back feeling like a new person.
Consider This Your Sign To Actually Clock Off
Ready to *actually* relax? Head to Carnival’s Play Away page, download the handy toolkit and your hat will automatically be in the ring to win. Best case, you’re sailing off into the sunset with a drink in hand. Worst case, you’ve got a very convincing out-of-office message and a newfound commitment to doing absolutely nothing on your next day off.
Entries are now open. Get in the draw here.
Image: supplied
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