On a recent vacation to Ireland, Sarah and I were part of a 7 day programmed tour. The tour operator had decided to make day 4 a “free day” to allow the folks on the tour to do whatever they wanted on that particular day.
Many folks scheduled something else to do. They participated in additional trips and tours. Sarah and I opted to do nothing but “relax”. Sarah got a massage. I went for a swim and a workout. We had a nice lunch together, then I found myself with a book in one hand, a cigar in the other, and a glass of fine whiskey by my side.
We are sure glad we did. The “relax” day at the mid point of the tour was exactly what we needed. We were rested for the remainder of the tour, and we didn’t come back from vacation in need of a vacation.
We should think about that in our day to day lives. Always carve out time to just relax. Folks allow themselves to get so busy that there is no time to relax, but candidly they do that to themselves.. If we look closely at our days, we can easily find 30 mins to do nothing but wind down. Many folks opt to take naps mid day. Others read, or do something they enjoy. The key is that relax time must be scheduled, just like everything else.
If you do that, you will be more productive, healthier and happier. Try it sometime.