Ideatin' a staycation for max recuperation

November 12, 2024 9:34 AM

I'm rounding out a very very challenging fractional role ending on November 22, which was hot on the heels of a preceding brain-breaking job. With limited funds and an abiding sense of guilt about "relaxing," what can I do to make this staycation as restorative as possible?

I don't have a job lined up after this, but the two weeks starting September 25 are actually vacation rounding out the old job, and I'd like to, well, vacation. Past staycations tend to devolve into me playing video games I don't care strongly about, watching a bunch of garbage on streaming, and then feeling like it was a long weird weekend and not feeling restored at all.

I'm hoping to do something in a two-week sprint that may still involve some work -- if I'm angling toward freelance I need to start getting an oar in -- but leans heavily into restoring a stressed and anxious brain and getting me feeling a little more me again.

posted by Shepherd to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (14 answers total)

Response by poster: Er, the above should read "two weeks starting November 25."
posted by Shepherd at 9:40 AM on November 12, 2024

Coming off an intense month, I’ve been watching the latest season of The Great British Baking Show.
It’s so nice, positive, and peaceful! I’ve enjoyed it even more than I expected.
posted by A Blue Moon at 9:42 AM on November 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Allow yourself a good long weekend of doing the things you describe.

Then start to incorporate some activities every day that move your body and some that get you outside, ideally into nature but a park will do.

Finally, find ways to feed your mind with something it does not normally get. For me that is normally some museums and/or art exhibitions.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:55 AM on November 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

Best answer: When staycationing, I like planning an excursion each day, and then giving myself permission to do nothing but that one excursion, and it has to be an indulgent one (pastries at 2pm, museum on a Tuesday morning, gardens or trail walk at 3pm). No errands, no being super efficient, no alarms. Just enjoying the moment. Enjoy a sunbeam intentionally. Notice things. Sit on a bench without your phone. Stare off into space. Take a drive to a local state park with a water feature (river, creek, lake, ocean) and watch the water with some hot tea/chocolate. Just be. Drive around and look at Christmas lights. Find the weirdest ones.

I also like scheduling one day of ALL THE THINGS, (haircut, appointments, food shopping, laundry) and just focusing that day on resetting my life. Knowing you have that day let's you relax harder on the other days. YMMV, but I like to do the "all the things" day first and then be the biggest lump in the world. Others prefer a clean up day at the at the end.
posted by larthegreat at 9:57 AM on November 12, 2024 [15 favorites]

Best answer: I am a big fan of dedicating just like 36-48 hours of one of these breaks to cognitive rest, and really ideally as few screens as possible along with not doing much. I personally think I get this done especially well when I go camping, as I'm frequently spending one full camping day moving my chair around to stay in the shade while I read a book and eat snacks in nature.

You can of course do this without sleeping outside, and you can even book a nearby campsite and make it look rudimentarily occupied (some campsites are jumpy about 'no-shows', this avoids the issue) but go home at night, if you want campfire facilities. But there's also parks.

Now, if it's really cold/wet out this is not so appealing, but I do recommend at least go for a drive to/through nature. Just, like, get your eyeballs on some space that has no people and buildings in it. Use your far-distance vision - something we often go weeks without doing - for a bit. Find yourself a place to get coffee or a meal, if the weather's not going to be amenable to even an in-car picnic, that's got a special view.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:57 AM on November 12, 2024 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You and the spouse both need to be in on this to really sell it, but definitely spend day/night having a slumber party.

Push the furniture out of the way, get out the sleeping bags, pull the couch cushions on the floor. Dress in your pajama-y-est pajamas. Shut your internet off, only watch movies you have on DVD (or pre downloaded, make a to-do of choosing in advance like you went to the rental place). Have popcorn and other snacks, make friendship bracelets, read tarot for each other, tell ghost stories, paint each other's nails. Go to bed late in a heap in the living room with the cats. Stay in your pajamas for a few hours when you wake up and have something way too sweet for breakfast. Watch cartoons.

I held myself a solo slumber party during the covid shutdown and it's still one of my favorite staycation activities I've ever done. Is it stupid? Hell yes. It's a wonderful reset on your daily habits.
posted by phunniemee at 10:21 AM on November 12, 2024 [11 favorites]

If you can think of it less as a reward and more as a preparation, you'll probably be able to do away with the guilt. You're relaxing so you can gird your loins and gather your strength for what comes next. Enjoy it guilt-free.
posted by anadem at 10:27 AM on November 12, 2024

Best answer: I find it particularly helpful to get out of town or at least out of the house for a long, full day. Do you have a friend you can visit or stay with for a night or two out of town? Not someone where there's a complicated relationship, but something where you can use their place to literally and mentally not be surrounded by home. A change of scenery.

If you can't go away overnight, to a friend's house or inexpensive hotel or other lodging, then I recommend at least a couple of full day activities. If you're outdoorsy, go for a walk or hike in a natural area. If you aren't outdoorsy, visit a museum or waterfall from the parking lot. Go to someplace new, or where you haven't been for a while, and spend the day doing non-screen things.

If you're a reader, bring a book (leisure reading only) with you to one of these places. Or, plan to go to a local coffee shop for a few hours, tuck your phone away, and read.

The point is to do something different. The easiest way is to go somewhere else, but you can also do this at home, even by taking the bus or a walk. You just have to have intention.

Sometimes if we are burnt out and have time off and don't plan for leisure, our brain demands a break anyway and we end up screen rotting. So plan some actual screen-free leisure.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:50 AM on November 12, 2024

Are you a dog person? Is there a friend who will loan you a dog for walks and hangout time?
posted by slateyness at 12:21 PM on November 12, 2024

This time of year, I would go all in and be a holiday maximalist. Baking, lights displays, concerts, volunteering, throw a party, decorating, crafting gifts, writing actual cards to everyone you know, etc. If it is winter where you are, add snow sports.
posted by shock muppet at 1:22 PM on November 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

I agree with larthegreat about getting in excursions/treats! I would focus on things that you lowkey always want to do but never get around to doing. A bakery that's a 30 minute drive away or that you have to get to at 8am or everything sells out; a museum or tourist spot that you like but is always crowded on the weekends (now you can go at 10am on a Tuesday!). Personally, I would schedule some sort of spa treatment, like a massage, that always feels like a treat. Doing just one of these things each day or every other day will definitely add up to feeling like you did something new and interesting with the time off.
posted by LKWorking at 2:32 PM on November 12, 2024

I suggest checking local websites/event sites/posters around your area as if you are a “tourist”. Or visiting your local Visitor Information office or library in person to find out what’s going on in and around your area. For example, free guided walks, community theatre productions, free talks by local experts, food tastings etc. There may be one-off volunteer roles that would be fun/stimulating and also relaxing eg ushering, planting, community choir or band performance/rehearsal.
posted by The Patron Saint of Spices at 3:33 PM on November 12, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: A walk around the neighborhood every morning is incredibly restorative and focusing. If you live somewhere where you can walk to coffee/breakfast, all the better.

Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
posted by mochapickle at 6:31 PM on November 12, 2024 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the thoughtful responses. I'm a week out, and doing some planning this weekend and this is all very helpful.

By happy chance I have a cousin who has a madcap plan to drive past me to buy a used tractor, so we're talking about an overnighter for a Classic Cousin Mess-Around, which will kick things off. And I think I've found a project that will scratch my "I need to work" itch while still feeling satisfying and getting things I want done, done.

All of the above ideas are great and I'm now excited about this. Hooray!
posted by Shepherd at 5:11 AM on November 16, 2024 [1 favorite]