It's easy now to stay connected to work on your vacation. More and more people work when they are on vacation. It's the anxiety, that if they don't check in they will be overwhelmed by the time they get home. Or they will miss something.
What would it take for you to take a vacation and leave work at work?
It's great to have a list of current projects and where you are at with them. Any documents or any other person that knows about the documents can be out so you don't have to be called.
Let key people know you are going to be on vacation ahead of time so you can do imperative things before you leave. And keep reminding them you will be gone.
Ask your boss what is most important for you to get done before you leave for vacation.
In your email vacation autoresponder share who else they can email while you are gone. Set that person up before you leave.
Make sure work knows to call you only in an emergency. Don't give your cell phone to everyone.
Have a list of what you need to do when you get back that you make before your vacation.
If you can, leave the laptop at home. If you aren't there yet with your electronic addiction, set 15 minutes in the evening to check your email. Don't play with it on and off during the day. That makes it difficult to relax. Same with your phone. Return calls only at a certain time in the day.
Then relax and have fun in your vacation!
Just got back from a beautiful motorcyle ride – it finally cooled down here in Michigan. I walked the beach earlier on cool sand.
I'm doing a free call on Simple and Fun Self-Care Wed, July 24th. You can sign up here.
Also, Midway Simplicity has a new workbook for a 30 minute life purpose method. Since I was away on vacation, he gave me a special coupon that expires this Tuesday at midnight. Use the coupon code: 20OFFBETH at the P.A.S. Technique 2.0.
Are you clear on what you want and expect? Or do you need to spend time thinking about it?
What three challenges are you dealing with?
Write down at least one way to make each challenge simpler and/or easier.
Reflect on what you learned and experienced this past week.
When you are thinking about solutions to problems in your life, try using a different part of yourself. What does your intution, creative side, devil's advocate, or logical side say about it?
2 simple snacks: Avacado on toast with lime juice and apples with peanut butter plus trail mix stuck on the peanut butter.
I asked my readers what class they would like and they said one that combines what they've learned in the time, finance, declutter and self-care classes to help create habits and rhythms.
Even if you haven't taken the other classes, this will be a great class to create those habits you have wanted to create.
As this is a pilot program (I don't even have a graphic yet for it 🙂 the class will only be $17. So if you have been wanting to try one of my classes this is a great one to start with.
Every Sunday evening I hop on my computer with music going and a drink of water to do my weekly planning.
For me, weekly planning isn't about planning to get all your to do's done. Instead weekly planning is to make conscious decisions about your time and life. Rather than just do the to dos that life throws you, you are deciding what is important for you.
I like to get quiet before my weekly planning. I pray, but you can center yourself however you choose. The pausing gets you out of flight or fight mode where many live most of the time.
Once I am calm, I think of my top 3 things that are most important to do or think about this week – usually gleaned from monthly planning and what my accountability partner Marcia and I talked about at our Thursday Skype chat. These I schedule into my Google calendar so I make time for them.
While I am in the calendar I look over the week to see if there is anything I need to prepare. Then I peek at the next few weeks as well.
Then I plan my menu if I didn't do a monthly plan. I include snacks which tends to be my downfall in healthy eating.
People are important to me as well so I plan time with my family and a friend or two. (An extrovert might need more social time.) Or I plan if I am invited to an event. Do I need a present? What will I wear? How do I get there?
And finally to keep myself wanting to get out of bed in the morning I make sure I have at least one thing to look forward to every day (some are from earlier planning).
If I am not having any fun or not taking care of myself or neglecting my relationships, it's because I am not planning. What will your week be like?
Simplifying without knowing your purpose and passions, means you may be simplifying the wrong things. You don't want to streamline all your meals if one of your loves is cooking. A short gym workout may not be as enjoyable as a long hike if you are a nature lover.
But he does a great job, as usual, of distilling the best of 'how to find your purpose' into a simple, simple process.
I am interested in many different things and his process made it easy to find the few most important to me. And he helped me find my advantage – how I can be of most use.
If you are looking for your next step or what you want to be when you grow up, Mohamed's P.A.S. method is a fast way to get on your right path.
How you see the world affects how much you are able to simplify. We also see things with certain filters on, thinking we are seeing truth.
If you see the world has you will never have enough and full of scarcity, you may claw, overwork or manipulate people to get your fair share.
If you see yourself as never enough, you will always need to do more to make you feel worthy.
If you see your family as unsupportive and never willing to help you, your brain will give you plenty of reasons why that point of view is valid. But, if you decide that you are supported, you can see the different ways you are supported.
Our mind automatically goes to what is wrong. A very important survival tool. To decide to look at things from a different way take conscious choosing. You have to deliberately focus on a different, more positive point of view.
In order to change your life, you are going to have to change how you see your life and the people in it.
I wanted my kids to savor and enjoy nature like I do. So every spring we would have a scavenger hunt.
I'd tweak the list depending on whether we are out in early spring or late spring. A few empty lines at the bottom would be added to the list in case they ran across something interesting like a deer that they wanted to capture.
Sometimes we would have a scavenger hunt in other seasons as well.
Lists and pencils in hand, we would set off on a nature walk. We'd walk the trail together enjoying the beauty of the woods.
The first person to see the object in nature got to check it off. A delighted voice of, "Look everyone there is a …." accompanied it. We would revel in what was seen, silently taking in the view.
We usually didn't find everything on the list, but no one seemed to care who won anyway. We all got to notice nature and experience it's nurturing.
I went on a retreat last weekend and it was so renewing. I meditated, wrote, prayed, read & wandered in nature. I hadn't even realized how much in productive mode I have been until I stopped.
A retreat is renewing self care, whether at home or away. Too often we get in the cycle of working too hard then flopping into some passive entertainment like our phones, TV or internet. Then instead of renewed we feel like we lost time and are still jangly.
Real renewal helps you feel calmly energized. And this can be different for everyone.
What renews you? Can you do that this weekend?
If you want to retreat, but don't know how, I have a retreat kit with ideas from many years of retreating.
Another reminder – the Simple Self Care class starts this evening. If you are feeling tired, run-down and want more energy & to get your sparkle back without a lot of time committment, this is for you.
Put in your schedule I time to be on retreat. I was so renewed from my past weekend.
How can you make your work life more fulfillng?
So something kind for yourself today.
Your past is not wasted, everything can be used to help build you.
If your to do list is not being used lately, try turning it into a game with points.
Organize your materials and how you will do the work before you start.
Are you too busy to take care of yourself?
Do you want to feel energized? Light? Rejuvenated? To live with zest, spirit and strength?
For the first time I am teaching my coaching program and workbook as a class for more support as you make these important changes.