How travel taught me to upgrade my life at home
Here’s what many of us do when we’re preparing to leave town:
This one’s obvious: we don’t schedule things at home knowing we won’t be here. In short, we say no. We’re quick to say it too: No, I’m so sorry, I’ll be out of town!
We look at our calendars or to-do lists to make sure we tie up loose ends, including drop things that don’t belong there. We communicate sooner and ask for help.
We anticipate and plan ahead.
Depending on how we roll, we might do some research on where we’re going. We schedule time for nature, relaxation, maybe some shopping, and play; think adventures, excursions, beaches, and new cuisine.
I’ve traveled 8 times over the last 8 months, half of them out of country. Those close to me asked, where to next? The answer is, there are no travel plans in the near future because I’m moving into a new home in the next few months. I’m in the middle of remodeling, setting up care for my aging parents, and holding space for my son’s college graduation and his subsequent move into the city close to his new job.
I know I’m not alone with so many things in the balance. Life happens. Which means there are birthdays, graduations, weddings, deaths, transitional next chapters in our lives, promotions, projects, openings, closings, breakups, drama, surprises, out-of-town visitors, and vacations.
Maybe leaving town 8 times in 8 months isn’t normal, but I’ve learned a lot from this.
These 8 months of travel have helped me sharpen some superpowers (that we all are capable of)
Streamlining - there’s nothing like continuous travel that shows me so candidly how much I have on my plate. I say no to extraneous things. Even if you don’t travel, I bet you have a lot on your plate that shows you so candidly that it’s too much.
Finding ways to explore - I’ve brought this 8-month habit home with me because it keeps me open and willing. Even when I’m feeling hesitant beforehand, I’m always happy in the end that I explored new things. What we forget is that people actually travel to where you live. What do you save for when you have visitors come in town?
Being conscious of what and how I eat while embracing the foodie in me - digestion health determines the quality of our experiences: our energy, sense of wellness, and clarity of mind.
Borrowing from the one benefit of procrastination (yes, there actually is one… sort of)
As you know, it can take 2 hours to organize a closet, or 2 weeks, 2 months, and let’s face it, even 2 years or 2 decades. Travel has taught me to organize my work into bite-sized chunks and get them done within 2 to 3 hour windows. Sometimes 20-minute windows. This means I feel accomplished on a daily basis.
Many of us will argue that we are most productive when we’re down to the wire and at our deadline.
The problem is, procrastinating puts us in a stressful, last-minute bind, causing us to lose sleep, not eat well, consume more stimulants, and leave us with very few options should anything go wrong. This frays the nervous system, and when we do this all the time, we lose our ability to relax and have fun. We can become chronically anxious.
We can take the “productivity” that comes with last minute procrastination and create those same time frames but on your own terms, at your chosen times, and when you’re rested, with wiggle room should sh** happen, because you know you’ll be going away on that wonderful vacation soon.
Except you don’t have to be going away on vacation
Instead of Googling what great things to do in Buenos Aires, you can be Googling what you can do within a two-hour drive, or right in your own town, for a lot of money, or for free.
Some people invite friends over for a dinner party one month in advance to get them moving on their self-enforced deadline to finish their fireplace renovation project. Or they announce a garage sale to force themselves to clean out their storage spaces by that time. In the same way, make reservations for things you want to do. Doing this will make you more likely to get your work or laundry done in 2 hours instead of 8.
My upcoming move & remodeling, son’s graduation, caring for a parent with advanced dementia, and a bit of family drama to go with it, all came unexpectedly at once. As they say, when it rains, it pours. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a little bit stressful. But the streamlining I’ve done - between saying no and getting stuff done in shorter periods of uninterrupted, fully present time has created more space in my day to be available for things that matter most to me.
The play, the exploration, and taking care of my digestion is what allows me to hold things in balance, feel spiritually full, strong, and connected. This doesn’t mean that I’m sad-free or stress-free because as humans, it’s important to experience these healthy and appropriate reactions; just not the chronic kind.
Those four things I’ve listed above that many of us do when we know we’re leaving town - those are life changing practices worthy of habitualizing even when you’re not leaving town. You’ll create space for important things. At first, you won’t know what to do with that space, but you’ll get used to it. You’ll even learn not to feel guilty about it. 🙂
Love, Savitree