I never really understood those folks who would take off the last half of December and skip out on all the amazing quiet time at work. I used to love working in my offices during this timeframe because I could get so much done.
Well, I’m joining the crew of being offline and largely unavailable until early January and I have a good list of things I want to do with my break at home.
I suppose I could just lie around in pajamas, do puzzles, watch movies and read books but that’s not really my personality. I mean, I’ll do those things anyway because I love movies and books and puzzles but I also love the practice of habits and pushing myself.
So one night when I was hosting my good friend Insomnia, I started a list. If I could do these specific things by the end of the year, I would be extremely happy. Then, like a good writer, I determined I would need to edit “sober”, aka rested, and make sure I was being realistic.
This is a necessary step because I have the tendency to start a weekend to do list with “clean the windows” and end it, 53 items later, with “re-roof the house.” My brain does not always easily comprehend what I can do in 2 days or 2 weeks.
But the best part of a list like mine is that you can probably start ticking things off right away. For me that included a few accounts I needed to cancel, some emails to send and a couple of links I just needed to save. See, I tend to email myself articles and artists, books to check out or products to look into and then they sit in my inbox. Clearing those out takes very little time and is perfect when my mind is racing at… 2am.
So what happens to all those ideas I can’t get done in my time off? Well, they go into my bullet journal for 2024 to accomplish throughout the year.
Planned Rest
Of course, I do anticipate time to rest, if my body cooperates and allows me to sleep during normal sleeping hours. But I don’t know if you ever experienced those summers as a kid when you didn’t have anything to do and after a few days you were merging into the couch as your eyes glazed over watching reruns on tv… just me?
Well, I feel we all get that way a bit now. We’ve seen the funny memes or videos on TikTok or Instagram, there’s always new rage baiting on Twitter and Facebook, news stories keep on coming, YouTube recommends the same old stuff over and over again… it can be frustrating and actually take more energy away.
I have two books I want to finish by the end of the year, and a nice stack of books to kickoff 2024.
Also on my list is finishing up some quilting projects and when I get to the last part, it’s all done by hand and a little slow. So listening to music while I attach binding to a half dozen quilt projects feels a lot like relaxing (especially compared to days full of video calls and Asana projects and emails).
While I don’t plan to spend much time out shopping, when the weather is good I’ll take a walk around town and maybe stop in the local coffee shop for a drink.
I have the time, after all I won’t have calls to rush home for or appointments until January. And I’m beginning to get very excited about that reality.
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