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5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Staycation – Laura Earnest Archive
How To Get The Most Out of Your Staycation
Planning

5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Staycation

This week is spring break for my school district. It is the first time I have experienced a school spring break since I was in college, and obviously the way I view spring breaks then and now are widely different. Since my husband has to work this week, it is a staycation… my daughter and I will be doing some things, but we are both off from our typical pursuits.

I’ll be honest. Teaching has been incredibly stressful. Not just by the class of repeating students who refuse to take any responsibility for their failure or their ongoing education, but it is made worse by a heavy-handed and bullying administrator who has chosen to scrutinize every move that both myself and the other new teacher in the school make. (At least I have a fellow torture victim to commiserate with and our mentors are doing everything they can to convince both of us not to leave the profession) I have reached spring break not just worn out, but with a level of anxiety I normally don’t feel unless I am about to step on a plane – anxiety which requires medication every time I fly.

This week is important to me, not just as a break from the kids and the administrator, but also because I need to find myself and consider my future path. So I knew that I was going to have to make the most of this staycation.

Below are the five things that I have found I need to do to make the most of this time. I really think it is a solid approach to get the most out of your staycation.

1. Take Stock Of Your Physical And Mental State

The first thing to do is assess where you are, both physically and mentally. Without that baseline, you can’t decide what sort of activities are going to be the most restorative.

I am having trouble with one of my feet, an aggravation of an old injury exacerbated by hauling 35 pounds of equipment up and down stairs daily, ironically to accommodate someone who was unable to walk the stairs to my classroom. That is not only going to limit what I can do, but also calls out to be looked at. An appointment with my podiatrist is in the works.

Mentally, I am stressed out, exhausted, and anxious. Given that my anxiety only kicks in when I set foot on a plane, this is a serious thing. This means I am going to have to make an effort to stay away from anything work-related, and do things that will relieve stress and anxiety. That means plenty of exercise and a massage. It also means lots of sleep.

2. Take At Least One Day Off

The point of any vacation, whether at home or not, is to get away from the everyday life. But staycations can turn into catch-up-cations instead just from being at home. In order to avoid this, you need to take at least one day off, away from the usual routines.

This was a hard one for me. The first day of my break was a Saturday, and normally I spend Saturdays rushing around trying to get all the errands done that I used to do during my lunch hours. Couple that with chauffeur duties, a women’s group I attend regularly, and Saturday is just as busy as my weekdays. A magazine article I read a few years ago talked about the importance of time off during staycations, so I tried to do at least one day.

I canceled lessons, decided to skip my women’s group, and worked to catch up my blog reading. The sun was shining, so I assembled a tray with my French press, favorite flavored creamer and a mug and took myself out to my porch to read. That lasted all of 30 minutes…not because of my inability to settle down, but because the sun was deceptive, and it was cold outside. The rest of the morning was an exercise in me sitting in a quiet corner, reading non-fiction and articles, and forcing myself to concentrate on the task at hand, rather than muse about what is going on at school.

The rest of the day I played it by ear. I went to the pet store to look at the kittens. I browsed the bookstore. I did go grocery shopping, but that was a choice rather than a “must”, and we grazed for dinner, eliminating the need for me to cook. At the end of the day I allowed myself the pleasure of reading a favorite story.

3. Make A List Of What You Would Like To Do

Staycations are a great time to catch up on things that you have intended to do. But they can also become a time when every task that you have wanted to do in the past months resides, waiting for your attention. In order to avoid that, you need to pick an abbreviated list of the things you want to do during your staycation.

Most productivity systems use lists as a way to guide us through the tasks we want and need to do so that we don’t end up getting sucked down rabbit holes. So a list is necessary, in my mind, to keep the staycation on track.

I can’t live an entire week like the day I described above. But at the same time, I can’t pack my staycation so full that I am frantically busy – because that is exactly what I need a break from.

I took a half hour to write down all of the things that I would like to do during my staycation. Most of them might appear to be “musts” and “shoulds” to others, such as writing articles, planning the next month of the blog, and such, but to me they are relaxing and rejuvenating.

When I was done with the list I looked back over it and crossed some things out. I don’t want to overload the time with tasks.

4. Plan For At Least Two Fun Things

A good friend of mine pressed me into describing the fun things I would do on this staycation. She told me it wasn’t enough to have vague plans, but rather specific things I was going to do for fun.

So I have committed to going out to lunch with a friend rarely available as she works on her doctoral thesis, and visiting a local museum that houses the remnants of the USS Monitor. There is also an exhibit at the local art museum that I want to take in as well.

5. Spend Some Time In Reflection

This tip was triggered by something someone said to me in passing. “You have to take the less busy moments to think, or you won’t think at all.”

When life is too busy, there isn’t time to assess where you are going. That can only happen when you slow down.

During this week I will be considering my career switch last fall. I will also be considering how much effort I want to put forth to satisfy someone who contradicts himself and sets changing and unrealistic expectations, especially in light of leaving the profession and going back to the business world. Is it worth the anxiety? Would I rather fight or be happy? All weighty questions.

Conclusion

This staycation could have descended into a slough of busy-ness and catchup. But by applying the rules above, I hope to end the week in a better frame of mind and body, and with a clearer picture of where I am going.