Beach Days and Hammock Days

Just this morning, I was patting myself on the back and posting the picture at left on Twitter, pleased to have accomplished some things before heading to the beach. About fifteen minutes ago, after a perfect beach day and some late afternoon novel reading, I realized I hadn't written a post for this blog.

Oops. 

So, since it's now evening and I am, after all, on vacation, I'm re-posting one from last year that I hope you'll find useful. In any event, it feels very appropriate for today, and it offers some advice for those who aren't having perfect beach days (which was me when I wrote the blog in the first place). 

Side note: this summer isn't a typical summer kid-wise either; my daughter was home for three weeks in May before heading back to school for a fellowship. If this is the new normal, I don't like it. 

But that's another post.

 

This summer has not been a typical summer. My daughter, usually at home for most of the summer, was home for just a week before heading off to her first trip abroad. Once home, she was here for a few days before taking a beach trip with friends. This is all good stuff, but the unusual schedule leaves me feeling as though I'm running into roadblocks on a regular basis.

Usually, I'm one of those people who's on both the sending and receiving end of the "don't worry, it'll get done. It always does." message, but this summer, it might not all get done.

And that's okay. Or at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself.

Amid all this convincing, it occurred to me yesterday that my mindset is the biggest road block of all. What if, instead of looking at summer as a blank slate on which to paint all of my projects, I looked at it as a time to slow down and recharge? I mean, a lot of people do just that, right? In an earlier post, I even wrote about making down time as intentional as work time.

It's clear that I still need to work on this.

Interestingly enough, it's my frequent trips that have given me an opening here. Often, there are numerous items on my list that I will not be able to accomplish by the time I need to leave for a trip, an appointment, or something else on my schedule. In those situations, as I find myself looking around wondering what to do, the question that pops into my head is quite simple.

What one task will give you the greatest satisfaction now OR what would you most like to see already done when you return? 

Ironically, this is a stripped down version of the mindset that feeds my Big 3 approach.

At least I'm consistent.

Pixabay

If you're like me, knowing what needs to be done and putting it into action are two different things. There are all sorts of complex ways to move from theory to action -- shortening my list, keeping one big, long list and prioritizing the items, or ditching lists entirely and spending the summer in a hammock. In reality, depending on the day, each of those could work.

And that's exactly what I need to work on keeping in mind. Some days are short list days. Some days are long list days.

And some days are hammock days.