The Joys of a Staycation
I had been meaning to do a staycation for years but somehow I always ended up planning a trip instead. Since I’ve taken a hiatus from travel due to the pandemic, my vacation days at work have been piling up and I pretty much had no choice but to do a staycation. I don’t drive due to health issues so I am limited to staying within walking distance of my home in San Francisco. I had been keeping a list of things to do and leading up to it, I was starting to get pretty excited. As my week of staycation now comes to a close, I’m grateful that it has brought me even more joy than I could have hoped for. This week has been very nourishing and exactly what I needed considering all the sad and anxiety-inducing circumstances of 2020. Here are some of my reflections!
Learning to slow down: work had been especially busy for me in the months before my staycation and I realized just how deeply wired my tendency to multitask had become as a result. I was almost incapable of just doing one thing. It was leading to a distracted and scattered mind and noticeably detracting from my happiness. There is something powerful about focusing on one thing and I hadn’t had that feeling in so long. I also felt a lot of anxiety from a never-ending sense of time scarcity, like there was just not enough time to do all of the things. So one of my main goals for my week off was to slow down and ‘unitask’ as much as possible- even something as simple as eating a meal, to eat mindfully and slowly rather than scarfing down my food while simultaneously watching a YouTube video or checking email. I caught myself multitasking several times and each time tried to gently remind myself to do one thing wholeheartedly and by the end of the week, I think I was starting to soften up some of that wiring.
Seeing the world with fresh eyes: many of us love traveling for the chance to see new places and have novel experiences. One of my favorite teachings from meditation is the concept of having a beginner’s mind: even if we are doing something for the thousandth time, we can try to approach it as if it were the first time, to have an openness and curiosity about the experience rather than just zoning out and going on autopilot. I’ve lived in SF for more than 11 years now and I still often have what I call ‘a San Francisco moment’ – when I am walking through my neighborhood and see an awe-inspiring view of the Bay that takes my breath away. And after this last extended stretch of wildfire smoke and poor air quality, I experienced it on an even deeper level. It felt like I hadn’t seen a clear blue sky in months, and I had a profound sense of gratitude for being able to enjoy the beauty of SF.
The joy of making space: I loved Marie Kondo’s book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ and did a big bolus of cleaning out my home after reading it many years ago. I was well overdue for another round and it seemed like a great staycation project. I think of myself as someone who rarely buys ‘things’ but after 11+ years of living in my apartment, I realized how much stuff tends to collect. It was incredibly cathartic to clear out the clutter and was fun to take a walk down memory lane. I also could feel my brain working in different ways as I was forced to get creative about how to reorganize to make the most of my small space. I got myself this plant for a table that had previously been full of clutter. I love how much it changes the vibe of the room and I hope to get more plants if I can successfully keep this one alive. 🙂
Simulating the early retirement lifestyle: several FIRE bloggers have commented that they aren’t sure how other people have time for a job because their lives feel so full with all their other hobbies and interests, and I had that experience this week. My days involved waking up without an alarm, meditating for an hour, exercising for 1-2 hours, going for long walks, working on my Spanish practice, catching up with friends and family, reading at the park or an outdoor cafe, Kondo time, cooking, etc. Considering how much I enjoyed it even with the limitations of the pandemic, I am now more confident that I could have a fulfilling life without a traditional job.
Resetting routines: I have struggled mightily with my exercise routine since the pandemic started. I loved the workout classes at my gym and don’t enjoy running, so it has been tough to get into a rhythm. I got into resistance band workouts over the summer but when work got busy, I was prioritizing meditation over exercise and just could not figure out how to make time for both. During my staycation, I got into a groove of daily morning cardio after meditation and also discovered an amazing HIIT teacher from a friend. She offers live donation-based classes every day and I loved it so much, I signed up for her video library. Check it out if you are looking to jumpstart your workouts! It reminded me how uplifting exercise can be and I am going to try to make it a priority to keep my workout routine going.
This week off has done wonders for my state of mind. I have a couple of ideas on how to try to build on the positive energy as I go back to work next week. More to come soon!
Your turn! How have you been coping with all the challenges of 2020?