What did your transition look like?
Did anyone else have a hard time transitioning back into work mode?
I love my space, I love making my space easy to live in, relaxing to spend time in, rejuvenating from full days of work and play. And it’s so darn comfortable that often, I don’t totally want to go anywhere else. At heart, I'm really a homebody. Can you tell!?
But let me tell you, it was pretty fantastic to get out for a little vacation last week. The time away makes me appreciate what I have, gives me fresh new ideas, allows me to rest from my day-to-day (which is lovely and so very enjoyable, but let’s be honest, a little variation is in order from time to time).
It was especially enjoyable to vacation in someone else’s beautiful home that is set-up to function really well for a large group with kids (see more on this later in the week).
Returning home, I was not feeling fully motivated to do the work I thought I should. I was half unpacked, I’d done a large chunk of that for an hour when we arrived home at 9:30 the night before, but by then, I was all tuckered out and headed for bed.
The next day was Sunday and I just didn’t really feel like working. I was feeling a bit blocked, a bit foggy, wanted to do nothing but relax and enjoy the home we’d been away from for the past week. And that’s basically what I did. I joined my daughter at 2 different points in her nap for 2 mini naps of my own. I listened to my body and did my best to eat foods that would go easy on my digestion, particularly after the delicious floodgates of Thanksgiving opened up (into my mouth :)).
I realized late in the day, as it was beginning to get dark, that my daughter's clothes had been “unpacked” and left scattered all around the door to my office. No wonder I was feeling blocked... I literally had to walk through an obstacle course to get to my desk!
Now clearly, there were other factors at work, but just before dinner I put all those clothes away and after the kids were in bed I finished putting my own clothes away (into my the closet in my office where they live) and immediately got pulled in (naturally, in an inspired fashion, without having planned it) to preplanning my work week.
I sat down, happily, at my desk for the better part of an hour, got clear on what lay ahead for the week and the work day. All of a sudden life and work were flowing naturally together again.
It was no coincidence that when I was ½ unpacked, I had one foot still in vacation mode and one foot back home (making it hard to really fully still be on vacation, or really fully integrate myself back into my life at home). It was also no coincidence that with clothing literally in the way of entering my office, that my path felt blocked.
I was dragging my feet, didn’t want to get back to it yet. I thoroughly enjoyed my time away--a true break from everything that was on my mind (which basically melted away into the background after my 1st day away). Unpacking allowed me to quite happily re-enter life at home.
When you are half in one reality and half in the other, you can’t be effective in either. Still need to unpack from your Thanksgiving vacation? Do it today! You’ll feel so much better. Leaving your bags unpacked is not an effective way of hanging on to the joys of vacation, and the in-between makes you ineffective in your daily life.
Ready to take command of your space in a bigger way? Check out my gift to you this holiday season: a fun and easy 3 day email course that highlights the subtle stressors in your home that wreak havoc on your relationships & your health!
Here's to solid relationships and good health.
Enjoy,
:) Tenaya
