Days off need structure

How to feel relaxed and satisfied

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that day's off need some structure. While
it is tempting to try to do nothing, this tends

(00:24):
to result in haphazard email checks and house cleaning. A
little strategy can make the time off feel much more meaningful.
I recently heard from someone who is facing an interesting
but probably not that uncommon situation. She had two weeks
off between jobs. Her kids would still be in their

(00:47):
usual school and childcare arrangements, so she had two weeks
when she would be mostly free during business hours. She
was trying to figure out how to make sure that
she felt like she had really enjoyed and the most
of this time, rather than peddling it away. It's a
good question. While a two week trip might be amazing,

(01:09):
this is somewhat harder when the kids aren't traveling too.
She could, however, maybe do an overnight trip, and she
was looking at doing some writing projects, which I thought
was a good idea. I thought it was a really
good idea to think through this time and to be
strategic about it, because unfortunately, when many of us are

(01:30):
not working, but are at our homes. We see the
same responsibilities that we normally face, and so a school
day could easily disappear into grocery shopping, returning something to
another store, and then sorting through the mail pile. Two
weeks of this might feel unsatisfying, especially when the new

(01:53):
job would bring its stressors soon enough. In general, if
you've got some amount of time off, I think it
helps to do a few things first. Set a few
anchor events. Yes, you want to leave a lot of
open time to learn what it feels like when time

(02:14):
is unstructured and relaxed, but you also want to know
that you'll do a few things that you couldn't do
while working full time or if you had your kids
during the day. Schedule these in so you can look
forward to them. The day hike, the overnight retreat in
the mountains, the matinee show, really enjoy the anticipation. Then

(02:39):
you also want to batch the things that you are
going to wind up doing during this time, because yes,
now is a good time to do that dentist appointment,
to get your oil changed, to finally pick up that
form from the county clerk's office. However, if these things
are always options. You'll have a hard time relaxing if

(03:00):
you know you should be doing them. Schedule all of
them for one Tuesday before three p m. And not
only will you get them done, you won't have to
worry about them at other points. You know there is
a time for doing that annoying errand and now is
not that time. With a few anchor events and a

(03:24):
time for batching the little things, your days off will
feel satisfying. You'll feel relaxed without worrying that you are
wasting your time. You will actually enjoy the open space
without worrying that you should be doing something else. If
you've ever planned a few weeks off between jobs, or

(03:46):
maybe before starting a new school program, I'd love to
hear how you spent the time. You can let me
know at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

(04:13):
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at before Breakfast Pod. That's B the number four,
then Breakfast p O D You can also shoot me
an email at before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

(04:33):
dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying
in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i
heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

(04:55):
your favorite shows. I can't get k