Can architects design holidays? Nope.
Next week I’m flying off for a three-week family holiday to the United States. It's very exciting! 🇺🇸
Between Stefan and I, three of our old high school friends have moved to the US, so we are going to visit and see their parts of the world and hopefully create some positive memories for our kids.
(and no, we won’t be attending any political rallies in the month before the election! 🫏 🗳️ 🐘)
Three weeks. Three friends. Three locations. ⚖️
It’s a pretty elegant structure. Almost like we designed it, which we did. But that simple design didn’t start out that way. It took time to develop and to resolve, with twists on the way.
Stefan has family in France and links to Greece, so initially we were looking at a round-the-world ticket. Great! I thought we could tie in Tokyo and *really* show the kids a different culture.
How long? Hmmm….maybe 6 weeks for all that?
How much? Hmmm….probably a lot.
And miss how much school (and work)? Hmmm….this is getting tricky.
😬
Way back in August last year (that’s 2023) I was sharing this formative holiday chit-chat meeting with a client who is also a travel agent. He reminded me of a little thing called the Paris Olympics and that Europe will still be busy in September 2024. “You’d better book soon!”
I suddenly realised that like him, I was a Client, navigating a range of priorities for my family, about to spend a big chunk of money, wanting a good outcome and to not mess it up!
I needed to practice what I preach and plan this thing properly with expert support. (Ooph! Reality check!) The parallels between the process of designing a home and a holiday were quite striking.
My first big step was really mentally committing to the holiday. It shifted from “something we are going to do” to “something we are going to make happen.”
Stefan and I got real and the first bit of the trip to go was Europe. We could just do the US and Japan for four weeks. (We’d been too ambitious at the start, no shame in that!)
But did we really want to miss two weeks of school? (The timeframe of the project is always a factor.)
Three weeks was becoming my comfort zone for time.
To fit the trip in three weeks, Japan was the next bit to go. (Let’s do it later, like phasing the project.)
THEN Stefan dropped the suggestion that we stop in Hawaii for a few days to help deal with jet lag and break up the long haul flight. This went against my instinct to always fly direct. But this was a *holiday*, right? The point is to *enjoy* it, right? He convinced me. (It took us a bit of negotiation to finalise the brief)
I had a crack at booking the tickets myself. (How hard can it be?)
OK, it’s hard. I contacted a travel agent recommended by a neighbour who was great and she booked tickets at a better price too. (Getting an expert was the right thing to do, and now it was like having the concept plan done.)
THEN my friend who lived near Detroit, Michigan told me he had applied for a new job in Boston, Massachusetts! (That was an unforeseen spanner in the works!)
It was six weeks before my friend’s new job was confirmed – during which time our expensive flights were in limbo. Eeek! Like a true professional our travel agent found the best solution. It did cost a bit more, but the whole point of the trip was going to see our friends. (That’s why you have a contingency fund!)
With a revised plan and certainty, I was able to book accommodation. We’re back on track and *really* looking forward to it.
On a personal level it has been enlightening to really see myself as a Client and feel the associated emotions – deciding the itinerary, navigating the travel-design process, getting priorities straight with my partner, seeking expert help, weighing up options and budgets, and occasionally succumbing to “planning fatigue” and needing to be reminded of the point of the holiday in the first place – enjoyment.
I’m sure you can see the parallels between the holiday planning process and the home planning process. My eyes were opened up again too.
😃
With gratitude,
Sarah Hobday-North, Founder and Architect
PS – Please give a heads-up to a friend you think might need an Architect GP to get unstuck.
