If you read this blog, you may have heard me mention a few times that I had a book come out last month. (Really, just a few…) It’s called Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done, and it’s all about learning to feel, in the midst of a full life, that time is abundant.
(If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, would you please do so? I’ll wait while you follow the retailer links on this page – scroll down to the bottom to see them.)
Anyway, one of the strategies I talk about is learning to linger in good moments. I introduce the concept of savoring, citing work done by the late Joseph Veroff and Fred B. Bryant. In their book, Savoring, they suggest a Daily Vacation exercise. Each day, for one week, you plan in a small patch (15 minutes) of something you know you will enjoy.
It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Maybe it’s sitting and lingering over a really good cup of coffee. Maybe it’s reading a good book while listening to the rain. Maybe it’s going for a walk somewhere beautiful, or listening to stirring music.
Each day, for one week, you anticipate your daily vacation. You try to slow down during it, and really notice all your senses. You think of how you might describe this pleasure to someone. Afterwards, you make a note of it somewhere, to help cement the memory. Then you look forward to your next vacation.
Next week, I am challenging myself to actually do this! Each day, I will savor my little daily vacation. The truth is that I’m on vacation part of next week anyway (with July 4th) but we all know that vacationing with family is seldom pure, unbridled pleasure. Fun, sure, but my kids will still fight and refuse to eat their dinners. I want to appreciate the good moments. So I will be posting my little moments of savoring here.
I invite you to join me in this Daily Vacation Challenge, starting Monday. Feel free to share your daily vacations here, or on social media (tag me or use #offtheclock if you want me to share it). Hopefully it will help make time feel more expansive.
I am actually going to be on vacation all of next week, but yes, it’ll be with kids AND extended family so relaxation is realistically not going to happen. I will definitely try this!
So am I, and so will I! I may even start right now 🙂
I’m in! I’ve already been trying to do this since finishing the book earlier this week!
Love the idea and will participate. I hope you do more of these activities. I loved the book and left my review on Amazon. Congrats on a great book!
This is a fantastic idea! I recently introduced ‘Quiet Time’ to every working day, so when I get home from work I spend 15 minutes doing something creative without screens – reading, painting, calligraphy, sewing, and I’m loving it! I feel more content, peaceful and calmed for the whole evening. I’ll definitely be adding your suggestionsike writing down how it feels, I think that could add even more benefit
I love this idea!
Fantastic idea! I’m in.
I’m in!
I’m in! Sounds like a delightful way to savor a little time this week.
My daily vacations – I insist upon myself, that at every meal, it’s on porcelain china, cloth napkins, wonderful silverware, glass glasses. You have to eat every day, on something, with something, it feels like a treat to do it “under silver”. This causes me to eat slower.. and get this…. eat less! Even when I worked in an office, I kept a set of luncheon “silver” at work. It made meal times very enjoyable… even if it was just pb&j.
@Laurean – love this idea! Yes, you do have to eat anyway, so why not nicely?
Today, July 2nd, I met a bible study friend for coffee and catch-up time.
Took the time to slow down and really peruse the art displayed at my local library today.
I love this idea.
I had a massage today in the middle of the work day.
We just completed our financial here in Australia and yesss, so ready to incorporate and book in a daily vacation! Thanks for providing us a common platform @Laura
@FrankieMunkie- yes! Take your daily vacation! You deserve it.
I have an office job M-F, and following one simple rule for years – slowing down and have my 5 o’clock tea in the afternoon. It is rarely happens at 5, and i frequently move this ritual to 3 or 4 pm. But anyways, it feels great looking forward to this nice 15-min break in the afternoon, when I will be sipping my tea, enjoying a nice treat, and reflecting on a day. I can glance at the news, or read some of my favorite blogs (including this one), and then resume my final hour at work.
@Irene – I love tea time! It’s a great way to build in a break in the afternoon when you would be slumping anyway.
I do routinely have the concept of “daily vacation” (although I hadn’t heard it called this exact term), but I love the idea of noting *what* makes it enjoyable. For now, though, I’ll share that the 45 minutes of kayaking on July 4 was bordered before and after by stressful moments, including nearly losing the kayaks on the freeway, which required rescue. That afternoon, after the rescuers had left, I savored quilting hidden away in my office. And yes, this morning I wrote about the whole experience to try my hand at an anecdote to possibly include in a book on active rest and seeking God.