I'm on my first "Staycation", a vacation where you stay at home and/or the city you live in. Been working non-stop when I suddenly realized I was burned out. Evidently it creeps up on you, due to prolonged stress. One day you wake up not wanting to face the day, nothing seems to motivate you, your life becomes passionless and everything feels like it's working against you, productivity decreases, you don't want to play with your pet, declining social invitations and dates, y'all know exactly what I'm talking about. Just so brittle, dry, and crusty, burnt to a damn crisp!
My staycation started today and ends on 11/10/13, two weeks from now. I felt pretty decadent and unproductive, not sure what to do with myself. Sleep schedule has been out of sync for a while now, going to bed at 6am and waking up at 7:30pm lately. So I knew something had to be done and told family, friends, and my manager that I'm on vacation for the next two weeks to decompress.
Last night I made a list of all the things I wanted to do on my staycation: give Bebe (my Westie) a bath and groom her, clean and deodorize the house, take a bubble bath and have a spa day at home (total body exfoliation, moisturizing Bunny body, mani/pedi, face masks, doing eyebrows, deep hair conditioning, facial, etc.), finish writing in my journal and start a new one (onto Volume #19!), get my friend to teach me how to make earrings, take Bebe to the dog park, download some ringtones, read, paint, make a list of all the things I look forward to doing/accomplishing, cooking, working out, watching TV, embracing my free spiritedness some more, booty shaking my Bunny buns around the house, reading about how to love myself more, spending time with Panda parents, and planning a clothing swap with my girlfriends. So many things I can do, the fun possibilities are endless.
For most people including myself, it's the guilt of taking time off to do nothing that prohibits us from going on a staycation. The focus here is to achieve pure happiness and elation in every cell of our bodies; every part of our being.
Just taking the time out to dream again. No work related stuff whatsoever unless I want to read up on stuff that will inspire me. When people contact me about work stuff, I reply that I'm on vacation and will be back in two weeks and leave my manager's contact info. It's a great feeling. :)
There are tons of great ideas for singles and families if you Google "staycation". And the cost of my amazing staycation? $0! Free ninety-nine. I know my work and winning attitude was suffering due to burnout. Not to mention a massive artist block that lead to resentment of my work. Does that sound like something you are going through?
Here are some tips for your own unique staycation, anytime you need it. All you have to do is decide that you deserve it! Yee!
• Start with your weekend beginning Friday night and go all the way until late Sunday night. If it doesn't give you pleasure, don't do it. That includes house cleaning.
• For those with erratic schedules (your days off aren't consecutive), make every one of your off days your staycation days.
• For those that have day jobs while pursuing your dream career on your own time, go home and force yourself to do something aside from your craft. Even though we love what we do, at some point we have to admit it's still work. It's not like it won't be there when we step back in a week.
For us painters, it's always good to come back to your work with a "fresh eye" a few days later and continue working on it. I imagine it's the same for musicians, writers. To come back with "fresh ears" and take a fresh listen.
• Explore another creative avenue. I'm a painter, but I'm super excited to have my friend teach me how to make earrings. She makes amazing jewelry so we're going to spend a girl day making earrings and stuff.
Make visual art if you're a musician, make music if you're a visual artist. Or write poetry. If you're a writer, paint something. Y'all get the idea.
Don't worry about it being "good" or not. I see so many people never attempt to create something because they don't think they're good at it. It's all about the release. The act of expression. Hell I get gonged off the stage at karaoke but that doesn't stop me from singing!
• Budget challenges? Come on y'all. Free ninety-nine is the cheapest you're gonna get. No excuses on this one. lol
• Rub some self tanner on yourself if you have to. Get some coconut oil going on. Whatever you need to do to get in the mood and be excited about your staycation!
• Make a list. Just like how you would make a list of stuff you have to do to be productive, make a list of all the things you want to do for fun! If it's fun, it goes on the list. You don't have to stick with it and you don't have to do everything. Just wake up in the morning and pick something off the list you want to do that day. Easy as blueberry pie.
• Spend time with your family. I don't have kids yet but I have my dog. I can tell when Bebe wants me to give her a belly rub, she lays on her back with her paws up and gives me the saddest puppy dog look. I'm sure your kids would enjoy a belly rub too. ;)
• Treat your staycation just as you would any other vacation. Turn your auto-responder on for your email if you'd like, turn off your phone, but definitely let people know you're not doing anything except playing and relaxing for the next two weeks. Take yourself seriously and maintain distinct boundaries. If it ain't about play, then no way. lol
For those that say you don't have time, you're gonna have to make time. And get everyone else to respect that time. Just say "Hey, I'm going on a staycation until (enter date). I will be in town and would love to see you, but only if we do something fun. Otherwise I will see you when I come back as a more refreshed, happier, more productive, and more lovable me!"
Do you really need more reasons to take a staycation?
• You will be happier. You will always have that "I just got laid really good" glow everywhere you go. People will tell you how great you look. They'll ask if you got a haircut. They'll notice something different about you, but won't be able to put their finger on it.
• You will be irresistible to the opposite sex; they will flirt with you shamelessly. The glint in your eye will have them mesmerized. You will be like melted chocolate gold to them. Your spouse won't be able to keep their hands off of you, you WILD THING! ;)
• You will feel great because your body will be rested and relaxed - mentally, physically, emotionally. You will be in total and complete alignment with yourself, those around you, and how you respond to the world. You will get along with everyone flawlessly or they will miraculously disappear as nothing in your world will be out of alignment.
• You will be more patient. Bullshit and bullshitters won't get to you because you'll be so high on life that their stank will just glide right off you. That's what happens when you come back smelling good from your staycation, that potent bullshit repellent seeps from your pores and the stank has no choice but to go somewhere else. Yee!
• Others will love your attitude and good energy. You will attract all kinds of free food and money. It happened to me, I manifested chicken fried rice!
• When you come back from your staycation you will be more alert, energized, focused, motivated, rejuvenated, and clear headed with your agenda. You will know exactly what you need to do. You won't be stuck on making decisions or be confused about anything. You'll be SURE.
• You will love your work more than ever before. You will be more passionate about what you do, your mission, your purpose. You will have an unspoken conviction that silently persuades others to say "Yes!" to whatever you're pitching. It'll be smooth like butta.
• You will have a million ideas on how to improve your business/career. Creatively, you'll be unstoppable. Ideas will flow like Niagara Falls.
• You will be completely organized. You won't misplace anything, ever again! lol
• Your kids will think you're the best parent ever. They'll actually think you're "cool". lol Right now, Bebe really loves me cuz she's never had so much bacon.
• YOU DESERVE IT! That's the biggest reason of all!
Okay, by now I'm sure I've convinced you with my staycation magic to go on a staycation yourself. Life is too short to not be happy and wake up everyday elated about your life. So if you're not waking up everyday absolutely excited about your life, it's time for a staycation.
Let me know what you ended up doing or what you have planned BunBuns!
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