With only three or so vacation weeks a year through much of my career, I’ve often felt pressure to make the most of every single day off. I can’t say I completely regret this, because that compulsion has led to a lot of enjoyment throughout the years: long trips to Europe and shorter trips closer to home, visits to interesting local landmarks, taking local walking tours, meeting up with family and friends for fun.
But the downside is that I’ve given myself relatively little time to just be.
One of the things I’m testing out during this phase of working part-time is giving myself “permission” to do a couple of little things and then just putter around the house. That might sound utterly normal to a lot of people, but I’ve been, um, a bit Type A and tightly wound throughout my working career. Or maybe you, too, can relate? That’s one of the things I’m trying to let go of as I start my Next Chapter.
The day I journaled this, June 20, I experimented with a 9 am water exercise class at the gym in their outdoor pool. I didn’t know what I was doing half the time, but it was still fun! Turns out I don’t have to be an expert at something to enjoy it. Another good lesson for a recovering Type A.
There were a few other newcomers in the class; everyone was nice; I got my cardio in in a different way than my usual walk, run, treadmill, or bike; and I got to actually talk with several people face to face. The face-to-face talking bit is something I haven’t gotten to do much of since I started working from home. It’s definitely better than on screen.
In theory, I could have taken the class before on a workday by shifting my schedule to start later. But it was a lot more relaxing not having to worry about rushing home to check my email and see who needs/wants what.
Late in the afternoon we headed to the season opening of our local farmers market and strolled around a bit, buying a few things from local vendors. And that’s pretty much it.
So far so good. I signed up for the class again tomorrow.
You can follow My Next Chapter by email newsletter or RSS feed. Blog content © Sharon Machlis.