What really made the vacation?
Our days on vacation were entirely uncluttered.
The bills were paid in advance. The phone did not ring, since I told my practice members that the office was closed. There were no lunches to pack. Even though we did laundry during our vacation, we didn't have to get it done by a certain time so all work clothes and school uniforms were ready. We made a couple of trips to a grocery store that were low stress trips since we were leisurely planning meals. All recreational plans were low keyed. There were no major trips to museums, and no visits to tourist attractions. There was no dealing with long drives in traffic. We had a few visits with relatives in the evenings, but we mostly kept to ourselves.
There were no distractions. There was no over-booking of activities. There were no surprises that typically come up during work days.
So how can this experience carry over into the return to daily life?
1.
First of all there has to be a commitment. The stark change from one day to the next was an eye opener for me. As soon as I landed back in Syracuse, the nonsense began. I said, "Enough! I want that vacation-feel back!" Like I said in an earlier post. I had no desire to leave town. I was happy being a working dog. (I have nothing against working dogs.) It was a comfort zone. Upon my return I realized things could be different because
I lived it differently for a week!
Some people never believe they can have something different. I hear it everyday in my office. Practice members do not believe they can get one inch closer to better health. There is a big mental barrier that I empathize with. It is a tough egg to crack. I was like that.
When I finally knew what I didn't know, and gave up my "know it all" attitude so I could just enjoy myself for a week in sunny Florida, it was easy to make the commitment. Here is the blog to prove it.
2.
You must sleep at the same hours every night. If you think your body is happy with an 11 o'clock bed time, or 10 o'clock bedtime, think again. There is too much of a domino effect when you don't go to bed earlier and keep it consistent (weekends included). Your energy, mental organization, temperament, productivity, food cravings, are all going in the wrong direction. Time is wasted. Productivity is a joke. I blamed it on hormones....LOL. Even hormones need sleep. Don't lie to yourself about sleep.
3.
You must systematize your daily activities so they are done and out of the way and then you will have more room for the enjoyment! Get the little things done and out of the way. Really, they are not little things, because they play a supporting role to get you out there in the world ready to take action. How do you begin? Well, you go to bed at a decent hour and then discover what you can accomplish the next day.
A few weeks ago I wrote a health article about energy. I made a point about my personal life that I was giving away the best of me all day during office hours and there was nothing left of me at home for my family. I know if I feel this way, everyone else has this problem. I was doing a lot of things well such as taking my supplements, getting adjusted weekly, exercising a little bit..... Well, in all honesty, there were holes in my bucket. Vacation helped me see that. I was putting my all into the office, even that can eventually run on fumes. I have many ideas for new projects, marketing, etc., but they have been on the back burner for months. The back burner is turning into a cobweb filled attack.
If you are a list writer, take all your "supporting role" chores make that list. Come up with ways to reduce the time you spend on them. Get them done in a more efficient manner. And when you get on the authentic restful sleep routine, you'll have an extra time and energy.
4.
Totally knock out the things that are unproductive. Back to commitment again. Here's a few ideas. They have some pesky emotional attachments. Skip the little detour to Dunkin Donuts, find ways to avoid the post office, ignore phone calls during your most productive time of day, set strong boundaries with certain people in your life, (Yep, do it.), give up television. Here's a biggie: use social media for catching up with family, sharing photos, following a few interests. I said few. Give up the rest. Don't read every comment, don't read every news story shared. Skip 80% of it.
Now, don't take my word for it. These are well known strategies to get your life in balance. When you feel the benefits of your Live Like Vacation changeover you will easily kick these time suckers to the curb!
I started out this blog taking things slowly, step by step. Don't overwhelm yourself.
5.
Make your work joyful for yourself and others.
Does this make you nervous? Concentrate on #1-3, jump into #4 later and then you'll be ready for #5.
I'll be there with you doing the same thing myself.
