The wag who said the alternative to a vacation is to stay home and tip every third person you see had a point. Vacations can be expensive and exhausting. There’s airport gridlock, cramped planes, missed connections, lost baggage, upset “tummies”, poor sleep, and oh yes, tipping!
But if your vacation at home is to be refreshing and a break from routine, it requires a little thought and planning. In a previous post, Are You Part of The “Great Vacationless Class”?, I wrote about the steps needed to plan for a holiday and my own upcoming staycation.
Thinking of a holiday at home? Here’s the secret to a successful staycation.
- Turn off your work mind. I know it’s easier said than done. What you have to do is stop yourself from planning or in any other way obsessing about your work. My default position is planning. I do it in my sleep. So what I need to do is catch myself thinking about work and tell myself quite forcefully, “STOP!” It’ll take some time before my mind catches on but it will. Repeat after me, “I’m not the Center of the Universe. It will continue without me and my planning.”
- Walk away from your computer. If you spend, as I do, a lot of time staring at a computer screen, turning it off can be like kicking an addiction. Checking on e-mails and your twitter and facebook friends is not a holiday. If you absolutely must look at your Inbox, make it once a day. Preferably, choose the beginning of the day. Then it’s out of the way and you can get on with your holiday.
- Set up an e-mail auto-respond message. To assist in your computer withdrawal, post an auto-respond message that tells people you’re away and when you’ll be back to answer their messages. If you feel the need, you can always leave an emergency telephone number.
- Don’t answer your telephone. Answering business calls is not a holiday. Record an outgoing message that lets clients know you’re unavailable and that you’ll get back to them when you return.
- Get out of the house. If you work from home, this is an absolute necessity. Here are some ideas. Pack a picnic lunch, invite a friend, and find a quiet park or beach. Pretend you’re a tourist and visit places that you’ve wanted to see but never had the time. Visit a museum or art gallery. Take in a musical concert, stage play, or dance production.
- Plan some home time. Make sure that all your days aren’t spent running around. Take time at home to read, watch some good movies, listen to your favorite music, take naps, and generally “veg out”. Don’t use your home time to catch up on neglected chores, like cleaning out the garage or washing the windows. That isn’t a holiday.
- Splurge. You’re not spending a small fortune on a vacation so why not indulge in a few treats? Here are a few suggestions – a massage session, a house cleaning service, a dinner at an upscale restaurant, a night at a fancy hotel, a day at a spa, a catered meal at home, a box of decadent chocolates…you get the idea.
What do you plan on doing for your staycation?
Photo by Ava Lowery
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