Sticking with Habits and Routines While on Vacation
Is it okay to take a break? Let’s chat!
A couple months ago I shared a podcast episode on 5 Tips to Overcome Travel Exhaustion and Stress and bounce back quicker to be a productive mom after taking a trip.
What I love about what I shared is that it provided a great pre-travel checklist and it’s what I refer back to anytime I’m about to travel.
Things such as making sure the kitchen is stocked with food for when we return and hiring a housecleaner to come clean while we’re away.
Go to HERE to listen to or read all the tips on preparing for a trip.
Today I wanted to touch on the same topic of traveling and how to avoid burnout and exhaustion by answering the question, “Is it okay to stop my habits and routines while on vacation?”
We’re actually vacationing this week in Destin, Florida on our annual Lizotte family vacation trip with Jered’s family, and I thought I could give you first hand feedback on my experience with sticking with my habits and routines instead of completely throwing them out the window and taking a break for the week.
Let’s dive in!
LISTEN HERE
identify the habit phase you’re in
We know that habits are conditioned automatic responses.
It may be something we’ve worked at training ourselves to do for good or a bad habit we’ve developed unknowingly.
If you’re working on breaking a bad habit or establishing a new one, you are in the formation phase of a specific habit.
In the habit formation phase, taking a break from your routine would set you back in your training. You might find yourself having to start over when you return home. In this case, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth taking the break and having to deal with the struggle later on.
If the habit feels easy and you are compelled to perform it without much effort or resistance, you are in the maintenance phase of that habit.
In this phase, there’s no really a question of if you’re going to perform certain habits and routines while you’re on vacation.
You will desire to stick with these habits just as if they were habits like brushing your teeth. You wouldn’t take a week-long break from that habit now would you?
This is usually the phase when the habit has become a part of your identity and to not perform the habit would leave you feeling “off.”
Decide if it’s worth it
Really it just comes down to a matter of conscience decision-making for those habits you are still working on and asking yourself, “Am I doing my next week’s self a favor by just sticking with these routines this week even while I’m on vacation?”
For me, the tiny habits that I’m working on establishing are worth my time and effort to work on even while on vacation so that my future self can reap the rewards.
Some habits people let go of during vacation
- unhealthy food choices
- excessive alcohol
- exercise and movement
- too little or too much sleep
- spending too much money
- tidiness
- structure and discipline
Reaping the rewards
As I said earlier, there are rewards that come with sticking to your habits and routines even while on vacation.
Some of them include having a smoother transition when you get back, and you will be less likely to experience a vacation hangover.
Your body also won’t have to work as hard to recover if you maintain your eating and exercise patterns.
And as a mom, your children won’t have a hard time bouncing back either. They’ll be less cranky and will have an easier time transitioning back into their normal weekly routines and schedules.
CREATE THE LIFE YOU WANT!
START DECLUTTERING TODAY!
You don’t have to stay stuck in your clutter. You don’t have to stay on the hamster wheel of bad habits that create mess and chaos in your home. You can be FREE!
