My brother and his gal took off yesterday afternoon from the airport. What a great time we had while he was here. They hung out with my sister for a few days, went to the beach, went out to some of our favorite haunts here (Ted’s Coney Island, Raven Coffee House, Freighters). They also got to watch some shows. They are huge fans of Locke and Key on Netflix. I have not watched it yet, but have it tagged on my watch list.
Tomorrow I’ll get back to my normal writing schedule. It was a nice week off!
All, I forgot to mention I’ll be off from blogging for about a week. My brother is flying in today from Phoenix and he’ll be here for about a week. I want to maximize my time with him while he’s here so I’m suspending many of my daily routines to do just that.
For those of my readers who live in the United States, Happy 4th! I hope you have a great time with friends and family. My wife went windsurfing in Arizona, my sister is out with her friend on her boat, and the folks and I are enjoying the air conditioning. Today, is another do nothing day for me, other than my blogging, and some other critical items.
Why should we take a vacation? Why should we take a day off? Because, regardless of how in shape we are, focused we are, or disciplined we are, we need time off. We need to do something we enjoy. We need to rest. We need some time when we are engaged with what we enjoy doing, without guilt. We also need something to compare our work days with.
The mind can only identify with opposites. Sleep and awake, dark and light, loud and quiet. The same thing occurs when we consider work and play. Without work or a purpose in your life, your leisure time would not be as special. The same goes for leisure time. If you don’t relax and take your mind off of the pressures at work, you won’t be as productive. Work and leisure go hand-in-hand. They need one another.
This is the first two days in a row I’ve relaxed and tossed my schedule in the basket this year. I need to do this more often. When I take a few days off now and then, I’m raring to get back to my book writing, my non-profit position, and all the other things I focus on during my “work” days.
This leads me right back to hobbies. You need one or more of them. Hobbies give you something to look forward to. A good social network is also necessary, so you can share your time with friends. It’s really nice to meet a friend for lunch on the weekend or sit down and chat over a cup of coffee. Then there’s the night life. I’m not a drinker, but for those of you who do, go out to the clubs, dance, meet new people, enjoy yourself.
If you work hard, the leisure time feels terrific. If you do your leisure right, you’ll be anxious to get back to work after a holiday or a few days off.
Well, that’s it for today, folks. I almost blew this off, but got the nudge to put this up so you could see the importance of time off and how it can actually give you the motivation to go back to work when your weekend, holiday, or vacation is over with.
All, while my brother and his girlfriend are here, I’ll be taking time off from the blog. I will return on the 13th (Next Monday) after he and his gal have left (they fly out the 12th). I hope all of you are having a great September and enjoying your Labor Day weekend (US readers only).
I love you guys and will see you again on the 13th.
All, my brother is visiting tomorrow and will be with us for 10 days. I will not be posting any content during this time, to maximize my time with him while he visits from Arizona. I may squeak a post in here and there, but will not resume publishing schedule until he has left for home.
Have a great 10 days! I’ll be back on the 20th or so.
I promised to take a week off each quarter and have failed miserably, so this week, I’m doing it! I’ll be reading and doing some of my tasks daily, but most are going on stand by. The first reason is I’m a little burned out by the hectic schedule I’ve been keeping to stay occupied–the other, I hurt my back late last week and just want to take it easy and relax until this thing sorts itself out.
So this week, as part of my vacation, I’ll be catching up on some Netflix, Amazon, and read more than I normally do. I’m still on the hook for 60 books and have finished 43-44 of them, but want to hit this one early this year, so I can enjoy the holidays and potentially take the entire month of December off, to really enjoy the holiday season, my favorite time of the year.
I’ll keep up my blogging too. I enjoy interacting with you, and like posting my little things each day, since some of you like certain content days, some of you like other days.
You see the gym picture above? No one is in it, including me. I just wanted to touch base, since it’s obvious I’ve been out of the gym for a bit. I wanted to keep myself accountable by writing in this special section of Daily Ramblings because I like the added pressure of putting myself out there. Between dentist appointments, vacationing with my sister, and now returning for a day and getting ready for my brother to come out and visit for a week, I decided to take some time off. I’ll be starting my workout routine again on the 1st of June.
It’s so easy to beat yourself up when something you’ve committed to doesn’t happen. I figured it was a little rude to go to the gym when I’m at my sisters for a few days, rude to miss time with my brother when he’s here to help out with my Mom’s cataract surgery on the 3rd of June, and all the rest. Is this an excuse? Sure. I’m not going to give myself a break when I fail to meet my expectations. Is it life-ending? No. I’ll be back in the gym on the 1st of June and continue to push forward with my physical goals.
Taking a break is a personal decision, but one that does not need you to guilt trip yourself over. If you need a break—take one. Then pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in there and pound on yourself again. Weightlifting is a marathon, not a race.
Daily Ramblings... 