Do you ever feel like you need a vacation when you come back from vacation? Even the most relaxing of vacations leave me wanting a little something more before I head back to the office. Every so often we all need a break, a little time to simply relax and refresh.
Very rarely do I take random days off from work. Typically I save all my vacation days for actual vacations, often cramming in as many days of travel as I can into limited days off (all about those red eye flights!). As much as it pains me to take vacation days and not go on an actual trip, staycations are a totally different kind of treat.
Last week I took the full week off and spent half in Maryland doing wedding planning and the other half in NYC. Having the time off to relax was pretty amazing. I thought I’d want to sleep in every morning, but found myself getting up on the early side, ready to enjoy the day.
I can’t say the same for this sleepy head. I swear Ollie has the sleep habits of a teenage boy. If i didn’t get him up, he’d probably snooze until noon every day.
In my opinion, a perfect staycation is a mixture of productivity and doing nothing. It feels great to knock some items off your to-do list, but don’t overload your days too much, you should give yourself time to rest and relax so you come back from your time off feeling refreshed.
To make the most of your time, create a concise to-do list. I hate the feeling that after a day off I accomplished absolutely nothing, so I always make sure to at least do something productive. Your to-do list shouldn’t be full of annoying tasks, it should also include things you love doing but don’t have always the time for, like trying a new restaurant, taking the time to try a challenging recipe, extra long walks with your dog, etc.
If you don’t get through your entire list, it’s ok, it’s just there to give you a little structure in an otherwise open day.
After my week off, I came back to work feeling great (ok maybe great is an overstatement. the first day back to work after a week off is brutal no matter what). I used my week off to get a lot of wedding stuff taken care of, caught up on sleep, and also had plenty of me time.
How I Spent A Day Off
I used some of my free time to explore parts of NYC that I don’t frequent enough. One day I made downtown plans with a friend to check out ModelFit. I love taking a 10am workout class, you get a proper amount of sleep but also get your workout done early-ish.
ModelFit Mini Review
The workout is described as a mix of Pilates, Yoga, movement, motion, balance, stability and functional training. The class started out with a super slow warm up. So slow that I thought, is this for real? Fortunately, the pace and the challenge picked up throughout the session. We used ankle weights and did very slow movements throughout the hour, leading to muscle burn but not much sweating.
I enjoyed the workout and felt like I benefited from the moves but it’s not a class I’m running back to as the pace was a bit slow for my taste. I can see why it’s called ModelFit; it’s really great if you have a naturally lean, model-like body (and if you do, aren’t you lucky!) but if you’re not one of those blessed people, I think you would need to supplement this workout with cardio and heavier weight workouts to see a body change.
The Butcher’s Daughter
After yoga we walked a couple of blocks to The Butcher’s Daughter, a place on my to-do list for so long. This tiny spot is super cute with a healthy and fresh menu. I got an almond milk latte and the Spicy Kale Caesar; I’m still dreaming about it. It. Was. So. Good.
As much as I love a good vacation, a staycation is pretty sweet too. If you don’t have any extra vacation days to splurge on a random day off, don’t be too sad, at least it’s Friday and the weekend is here, a mini-staycation in itself!
