Maybe this is a symptom of me being extremely Type A, but whenever I go on vacation I make a mental (and sometimes physical) checklist of things that I want to do. I like my trips to be relaxing but I also like to be able to do everything on my list so writing everything down helps me space activities throughout my trip without feeling rushed or as if I’m missing out/doing everything on one day.
As I write it down I realize that this sounds like I make full schedules for my trips, but that’s not at all the case. These checklists are mostly small things I want to do or specific foods/places I want to eat. (Embarrassingly enough sometimes “relax at the pool” is the type of thing that makes the list.) To give you an idea of what I mean, here was the checklist for my recent trip to see my family in Northern California:
- eat at In N Out (specifically animal fries)
- meet up with E
- swim in/relax at the pool
- go to Apple Hill (and eat an apple donut)
- eat at Tijuana Taqueria
- spend time with my family
- walk around downtown and visit the cheese shop
- read in the sun
- make dirty martinis with my aunt
All in all, these were easy goals to accomplish. And they’re all things that I love doing (and eating). Writing them down just makes me feel better about being able to do all the things I want to and not feel stressed while on my break.
Are you neurotic like me and also write lists for your vacations? Or do you have a different strategy for approaching time off?
xoxo,
J
Leave a Reply