Do you have a hard time doing nothing? I do.

I am always go-go-go. Even on vacation, I like having a to-do list of places to go and sights to see. It’s what I’m used to; it’s how our family vacationed when I was a kid. We were never sit-on-the-beach kind of people.

We just got back from a sit-on-the-beach kind of vacation. And it really got me thinking about my relaxation habits. Or lack thereof.

I’m slowly realizing, and admitting to myself, that I have a hard time relaxing.

Okay, maybe I don’t have a hard time relaxing. But I have a hard time justifying relaxation. How can I sit around and do nothing when there’s so much to be done? I can just work on a couple of “blogger things” while I watch TV at night, right? Or a “lazy Sunday” of watching football really means 4+ hours for me to work on craft projects or write up a post or two.

The best thing about blogging is that it can be done from just about anywhere. As long as you have a scrap of paper or a wifi connection, you can get work done. But this is also the worst thing about blogging, and the thing that makes it so hard to truly unplug and even, to justify the act of unplugging.

I brainstormed on project ideas during our car ride to Florida (Tom gets carsick if he’s a passenger, so he drives the entire route). I wrote posts and edited photos from our ocean-side condo. I planned Facebook posts and took care of emails. But I also spent plenty of time with my feet in the sand or in the pool, just enjoying. And I don’t think I realized how much I needed this until we got home, and I felt the stressors of my normal schedule creeping back into my brain.

What is it about being out of our element that makes it so much easier to relax? And what is it about being in our element that makes it so hard?

I need to relax more, to unplug more, to take more time “off.” But I’m not sure exactly how I go about doing this. Because right now, the solution seems to be to schedule relaxation time, which seems counter-intuitive. But maybe that’s what I need to do. Block off a few hours each week for me to “do nothing”.

Do you relate to this? Do you find yourself feeling stressed but aren’t sure how to go about relaxing more, without having to leave town?

If yes, let’s work on this together! Let’s find moments where we feel most calm and capitalize on them. Or if you have tricks you use to get more relaxation out of your day, share them in the comments! I’d love to hear them!