Surprise, I’m going to LA next week!
I keep forgetting that I’m technically on winter break from grad school. It’s been a pretty jam packed winter break, though. Hi, working full-time for my internship while also hustling behind the scenes for Holistic Happening (<--- we have a website now!) and this here blog. SO, I'm pretty excited about vacation and going somewhere vaguely warmer than NYC. So, perhaps this time I will make a plan to visit Maui Islands in Hawaii. I have heard praises of this place from my friends who have told me about the warm weather of the place, their adventurous sailing trips (which were probably organized by a boat tour agency like Kai Kanani Sailing), and their endless party stories. Truth be told, I was quite impressed after hearing all the details. So, fingers crossed for this plan!
But I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the winter break I had envisioned when I applied to grad school, but sometimes you gotta say yes when opportunity presents itself. With that said, I know I’m on the verge of burnout and this vacation is much needed.
As much as I love going to LA, sometimes it doesn’t feel like a vacation since I’m usually working remotely in some capacity while I’m there. I also stay with my BFF which is awesome, but visiting someone that lives where palm trees are isn’t quite like visiting a tropical island. He has responsibilities and a life to attend to.
I want this to be the refreshing, rejuvenating, vacation I need before I hit the ground running for spring semester, so I’m setting some ground rules. Yup, I’m setting rules for my vacation…
The Rules of Vacation
✨ The email away message is going up! Obviously I’m going to LA, not some foreign country with spotty reception, and can easily stay 100% connected. But then that wouldn’t feel like a vacation.
I’ve previously had working vacations in LA which were great because it allowed me to go to LA for two-weeks, but quite frankly it also sucked. I still had that work work work work work stress looming over me. So while I came home a bit more tan and well rested, it wasn’t really a vacation. So this time around that away message is going up on like all five of my inboxes.
Sorry, not sorry if you email me in the next week and I don’t respond.
✨ Sleep is a priority over fitness. Yes, you read that right. As much as I love checking out the hottest fitness studios in LA (<--- tons of West Hollywood studios reviews!), this time around I'm not forsaking precious sleep time for the sake of fitness. I'll be there for a full week and will do my best to hit up a new studio or two, an old favorite (I'm thinking Training Mate or Prevail!) and then just doing some online barre3 classes from home base since I can do that anytime.
✨ Don’t stress about breaking my healthy habits. When I travel I try to stay 100% dairy free. It’s not the time to find out how much dairy my system can handle.
Besides that, I lax up about my healthy habits. It’s one week, kale and Sweetgreen and mindfulness will be waiting for me when I get home. I do, however, plan on eating ALL the delicious vegan food in LA. Trying to hit up Little Pine again is one of my top priorities!
✨ Embrace the laziness. And I won’t feel guilty about it 🙂 If I want to spend the morning lounging outside reading, I’m going to do it.
Your Turn: What are your rules for disconnecting / relaxing on vacation?
I love your goal of choosing sleep over fitness! I’ve made the mistake of not doing that while on vacation (because I love having more time to workout – theoretically – while on vacation) but then I can often return home more tired. It’s great to find that balance between relaxation and staying active. Have fun!
Fingers crossed that balance happens for me! It’s always weird trying to find the mix of routine from home while also embracing vacation mode.
Kudos to you for taking the much needed (and deserved!) time off. I’m so guilty of checking work email when I’m out of the office, but it totally ruins the flow of my vacation. And all those fitness classes and vegan restaurants will still be waiting for you if you sleep in! 🙂
Ugh it’s SO hard! That fine line between vacation and y’know getting fired 🙂
As someone who used to drive myself crazy trying to squeeze in daily workouts regardless of the planned activities and stress about vacation food – I’d say these rules are #GOALS! Way to be in the moment and enjoy every part 🙂
Definitely not worth the stress anymore. I know I’ll find time to squeeze in a work out and will inevitably walk 11+ miles when we go to Disneyland. Not worth losing sleep this time around, though!