9 Essential Steps For Planning Downtime (no matter how busy you are!)

down-time

Does it seem like your life is filled to the brim with activity? Meetings. Pushing to make deadlines. Keeping clients, co-workers or employees happy. Trying to maintain some semblance of a family and/or social life in tact. Whatever your story… life is crazy!

Now that summer is here, you would love to have some down time, but it’s impossible, right? Wrong. And while it might not be realistic for you to take some time off in the next few weeks, it is possible to have some legitimate downtime if you follow these 9 steps:

Zoom out. If you have a tendency to push downtime, vacation time, or any kind of planned time with your spouse or family to the back burner, then it’s time to make a perspective adjustment. The daily grind tends to rule our lives and the things that are the most important can easily get lost in the shuffle. So. Deep breath. Zoom out. Assess what is really important. How are you investing into those things? The truth is, life can be turned upside down in a split second. Don’t take it for granted. Things like your health and your relationships must be invested in and maintained. It’s time to plan some downtime to invest in the important things.
Daydream. That’s right, daydream. “If I could do anything, go anywhere…” what would it be? Think big! And think small! A trip around Europe, a picnic in the park. Surprise my kids with a fun weekend trip, surprise my spouse with a fun date night. A cross-country road trip, a neighborhood block party. Make a list, and add to it whenever something comes to mind!
Set Goals. Now pick one or two (or three) things from your daydreams, and let’s put in on the calendar. Scared? It’s ok! just do it. This is your first solid step to planning your downtime. Obviously there is a measure of practicality that needs to be used here. Things like budgets and deadlines DO come into play. But for the moment, just do your best to put something in the calendar. You may even have to change it. But if you just start by putting in on the calendar, that’s the important thing. If you need to start small, that’s ok.
Prioritize. So what needs to happen in order for your downtime dream to come true? Maybe you need to accomplish 3 pressing projects at work and get through the new software training. Maybe there is a big event coming up for which you have been preparing and you need to get past that. Even though it seems like there’s always SOMETHING… we’re going to squeeze some downtime in between. So prioritize– remember how we just zoomed out. Yes, you have commitments and things going on. But downtime is no longer on a back burner, remember? It’s a priority now! Here is where you work it in.
Make plans. Now that you’ve got your downtime scheduled, and you know what you need to accomplish beforehand, it’s time to make some plans. And I don’t mean travel plans and reservations. Not quite yet. I mean, map out what needs to be accomplished, and leave some wiggle room for the things that will inevitably pop up. Because they will. And if you haven’t made extra room for those things, they’ll stress you out! This is your game plan. Your strategy. Plan your time, your projects, and the people or things which need to be lined up in order to make it happen. Now you know that you will accomplish your priorities which will free you up to enjoy your upcoming downtime.
Communicate. In all of history, there have been some really, really important people. Probably more important that you… and you know what, life has gone on without them. (hey, that was kinda rude, so what’s my point, right?) Just a little more perspective. All I mean is that everything will not come to a screeching halt if you’re not there for a week or a few days. Not if you plan well and communicate. What will need to be accomplished while you are gone? Who can you trust to do it? Communicate to those people. Be clear about instructions and expectations. It’s a really good idea to have things like this in writing too. Do this in plenty of time so they can prepare and you can rest easy. Make it easier on yourself by communicating to your clients or others who may need you during your time away. Let them know you will be gone and to plan accordingly. Set up an auto-response email for the dates you will be gone.
Make more plans. Now it’s time for the fun plans. Make travel arrangements, reservations, decide what you need for your downtime, and prepare. Does this sound like more work to you? With whom are you sharing your downtime? If you hate making travel plans, maybe they don’t! Enlist help. Ask around, get recommendations. If that still sounds like too much work, just call a travel agent! The end result should simply be that you have something specific to look forward to and about which you can be excited!
Relax and Enjoy. Hooray! It’s time! You’ve prioritized and planned. you’ve communicated and made plans. Now it’s time to enjoy the fruit of your labor and invest some time and attention into those most important things. Your health and the relationships of those closest to you. Even if everything does not go smoothly, remember to zoom out. Perspective. It’s about time and experience and relationships. You know… stop and smell the roses.
Brace for Re-Entry. Returning from time away can be hard. But just taking the time to mentally prepare yourself can go a long way. Be sure to plan some extra time to get caught up. Maybe you can opt out of a meeting in order to get caught up on some emails. Plan some time to touch base with those that may have stepped in for your while you were gone.(Be sure to deactivate your auto-response email!) Get back in the groove one step at a time. And remember to rinse and repeat. Yep. do this on a regular basis! So keep that daydream list handy….