This + That: Summer moments and slow living lessons

Time to bid farewell to another summer. I do this with bittersweet feelings.

To be honest, I think I love the idea of summer better than actual summer. Because in theory, summer is all about fun, sunshine, beach trips, ocean breezes, long afternoon reads, and balmy evenings. In reality, our summer is hot and humid to the point you don’t even want to step outside, let alone roam the city for fun things to do.

But I still get nostalgic at the end of summer and my memories of it are already half-beautified. And as much as I want fall to be here, with crimson leaves, crisp mornings, chunky knits, and pumpkin and cinnamon in the air, I cannot help but feel a tinge of sorrow for having to say goodbye to this season.

My nostalgia considerable strengthened when I was selecting and editing my vacation photos from Rovinj, Croatia 2 weeks ago. It was a short trip, for a variety of reasons a couple of days away were all we could manage this summer, but it was the perfect trip nevertheless. Slow mornings spent with drinking lattes by the sea, strolling around the city, lounging by the beach, having great conversations, with limited phone time.

It got me thinking – how come we switch so easily into vacation mode and get accustomed to a slower pace of living when we’re away, but fall back into the same bad habits of overstressing and overthinking the moment we step through the door (or even get off the airplane)?

I’m not saying life should be one long vacation. To be honest, I’d be bored to death by the end of the second week. However, some balance would be nice, right?

For me, it all comes down to planning. It may sound counterintuitive to plan more, doesn’t that result in just more stress and a longer to-do list?

Not necessarily.

I think sometimes we are more trapped by the imagined magnitude of our responsibilities as well as external and internalized expectations of what it means to be productive and successful than our actual tasks.

I first realized this during one of my first exam seasons at university. I remember turning down social invites or just refusing to go out for a couple of hours, because I thought I had to study. Did I study during all that time I spent crunching over my notes and books? Of course not. I think I’ve seen more YouTube videos during those short periods than before or after altogether. I just simply thought allowing myself some free time was not the responsible thing to do.

Looking back, I’m sure I’d have been 10 times more productive with better time management, prioritization, and actually factoring in some relax time.

I’ve tried to learn a lot from those experiences as well as from vacations. Those trips, when I feel like I’m finally truly living the slow life, always reinforce my belief that planning and scheduling relax time, friends and family time, or just me time is the most important thing we can do for our health and for a happy life.

So, by all means, drink that morning coffee peacefully. Create and stick to your routines. Schedule in social media breaks. Close the computer, put down the phone. Accept that you’ve done enough for the day. Go easier on yourself. Treat relax time, hobbies, or fun just as seriously as you would treat work obligations or a deadline. Plan smartly and plan some vacation time in your everyday life.

Because 2 weeks of relaxing vacation vs. 50 spent in a frenzied hurry is just not a good ratio, if you ask me.

xx

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