Employees discuss hacks for getting the most out of vacation days at work: 'If you have a 9-5 job and don't plan on going on a vacation, schedule a three-day weekend for yourself every month'

If you're fortunate enough to get paid time off, you should be using it. Even if you don't have anything planned, it's nice to take a mental break every once in a while. But sometimes, we can find ourselves at the end of the year with extra PTO that we forgot to use. That can be nice if your PTO carries over onto the next year or if you get additional pay for not using those days. But a lot of companies don't allow that time to roll over. In any case, you should still use your time off wisely. Maybe you don't have enough time off to take a whole vacation, or maybe you can't afford to. Whatever your reason for keeping your days is, there are some clever ways to incorporate time off throughout the year. Below, these employees break down different ways they like to take a day off here and there. Whether it's by taking a Wednesday off to break up the week or taking a Friday and Monday off to get that extra-long weekend, they break down their reasonings below.