Planned Spontaneity

When you go on a real vacation there is a lot of planning involved.  You figure out schedules and where to stay and what to do and what to bring (and how to fit it all in the car!).  By contrast, some of your Daily Vacations can come upon you with no warning - just an opportunity to be seized.  Depending on the weather, extra time you find yourself with, or what the other people in your family are doing, you could suddenly take a moment for yourself.

For these moments, I recommend "planned spontaneity",  Because life happens so fast, you need to be prepared for the gaps in between things when you get to stop and breathe.  If you only had 20 minutes to take a Daily Vacation in your own home, what would you do?  If you finished all your errands ahead of time, where would you go?  Are you in a position to do these things or will the time pass you by as you either scramble to get things together or give up entirely?  Because everyone's idea of a Daily Vacation is different, I will give you examples of my "planned spontaneity", and hopefully they will inspire you to figure out yours.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day.  Unfortunately, it was also an absolutely busy day!  I wanted to make sure to spend sometime outside at some point.  An oppotunity presented itself between 2 o'clock and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.  I immediately grabbed a tote bag I keep handy for trips outside - whether they be in the backyard, at the park, or at a beach.  In the tote bag I have an old blanket designated for outside use only (I recommend everyone has one or two of these) and a magazine that I haven't read yet.  I picked it up from the front closet and walked to the back door adding sunglasses, a water bottle, and a piece of fruit as I went.  It took me 3 minutes to gather everything needed to fully enjoy the only 45 minutes I was going to get outside that day - and it was a really great time in the fresh air that made me feel like I didn't miss out on the day.

Another way I prepare for a spontaneous Daily Vacation is to keep an extra pair of neutral colored flip flops under the seat in the car ($5 for 2 pairs at Old Navy cannot be beat!).  There are few things more frustrating then being stuck in the wrong footwear for something you didn't know was coming when you left the house.  Flip flops are my footwear of choice, but if your idea of vacations center around heels or running shoes, then put an extra pair of one of those in the car (make sure the heels are a neutral tone to match anything and be sure to stuff some clean socks in the running shoes too!).

Think of all the small Daily Vacations you might be taking, plan to take them, and then TAKE THEM!  Set yourself up to take advantage of all the moments you find, and 24 hours will start to seem like a lot of time instead of too little.