Staycation Take III

I try to learn from my mistakes.  I try to improve all the time.  Recently I shared how I embed the Plan–do–check–act model into my processes.  I take the same approach in many areas of my life. 

In a prior blog, I also talked about a failed staycation.  I also wrote a blog about the difference between a lesson noted and a lesson learned.  These two articles are relevant because I will have to admit that the lessons of the failed staycation were only lessons noted and not lessons learned.

In the spring of this year, we attempted a second staycation.  We attempted and failed miserably!  It was a total fail.  We didn’t go back and review the lessons noted before we make the second attempt and we paid for it.  By the end of the week, my husband and I both felt like we worked more than we rested.  It felt oddly like a normal week vs a week of rest and recovery.  

Here we are again, about to make attempt three.  This time we have tried some different things.  We have made plans!  We have planned when we have free time to use as we wish (rest/work our individual choice).  We have made plans to go flying, do a few curbside pickups, we booked massages and we offered to do an outdoor safely distanced visit. 

We have even planned some fun meals (deep dish pizza from a place in Hamilton?). 

As I start this blog it is Monday of our staycation take 3.  Today is a work day.  On Monday’s I host a three hour working group.  Anyone enrolled in my programs can drop in to do some focused work on their business.  We have found that when you have a group of people sitting working with you, you can say more focused.  The working group was a trial based on one of the ideas that came out of our power seat sessions in one of the accountability groups.  We decided it is a permanent part of our programs as it has been very well received.   As I didn’t want to cancel this working session, we decided that we would have a better week if we took the Monday to do focused work to set ourselves up for the week.  

The key is that we made the choice.  We planned to work today.  I am focused.  I’m focused because I know tomorrow we have some fun stuff planned!  

I’ll let you know how the week went by the end of the week.  Did we learn from the prior staycations or not? Is there more to still learn?  

Monday:  There were major system issues in my husband’s business.  The stress was high and I wondered if it would affect the rest of the week.   At the end of the day, I crawled into bed and my husband continued to try to save the world.  I had no idea what tomorrow would bring. 

Tuesday:  We are on rest week, not a full vacation.  This means we do manage our regular obligations.  I was up early for my 7 AM weekly networking meeting.  I did my follow-up after the meeting and participated in the leadership meeting.  Once the meetings were over at 10 AM I checked in with my husband.  Our day was a go as planned.  We quickly got ready and headed out for a full day of flying, walking and lunch in Killarney, Ontario.  It was a fantastic day.  We finished the day exhausted but agreed it was well worth it. 

Wednesday:   We have plans for another busy afternoon. We were both at our desks by 8:30 ready for focused work before we enjoyed the rest of the day and the beautiful weather. 

Thursday: I facilitated the Thursday morning accountability group, got a few things off my desk and enjoyed an afternoon of massages and an ice cream treat.  We finished the day with a zoom dinner with a good friend. 

Friday:  Lazy morning, a bit of work and then again an afternoon full of adventure.  Curbside pickups and an outdoor, socially distanced visit with some friends. 

Final verdict.  I think we managed a week of rest, fun and adventure.  Sprinkled with some work which is normal for these two entrepreneurs.  Overall, it seemed that making a plan for a better balance of work and fun worked for us.  We will admit that we are a little tired and thus look forward to a quite weekend. We have planned some chores and lots of outdoor relaxation.

Our next rest week in July. The pool will be open and the weather awesome. Our plan is not to book as much outside of the home. The plan is to schedule poolside relaxation. The keyword is schedule. The lesson noted is that if we don’t schedule the rest we will automatically work.

Sigh… finally, I think we found a way to staycation.  We found a balance of work, rest and fun.  It requires planning but it’s so worth it. 

“Today you are you that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is your than you.”

Dr. Seuss