I used to float, now I just fall down, I used to know, but I'm not sure now, what I was made for, what was I made for, taking a drive, I was an ideal, not so alive, turns out I'm bringing it home with Sarah and Taneel, Sarah, here we are, 2024, that is so wild, and is this year six, because we just had a birthday, oh my goodness, this is amazing, here we are, year six, how exciting is this, it's wild, look back and think, you know, our little podcast is beginning year six, it's really exciting, and I can't wait to see what, you know, 2024 brings, definitely, that was Billie Eilish, what was I made for, and if anybody's familiar with the Barbie movie, I know millions and millions of people are, that's where that song gets from, and so that's a pretty big question to ask ourselves, right here at the beginning of the year, don't you think, yes, you're not holding back any punches with the song choices already, no, we're going all the way in early this year, but, you know, one of the things that some of us struggled with, we're trying to get back to, you know, whatever normal is after the holidays, you know, we had to come back to work, right, you know, we had to get the kids, you know, going again, and so, you know, one of the things that we want to talk about is making our weekends a little bit more vacation-like, because we don't want to spend the whole year waiting for Christmas vacation, no, you're right, we need to be intentional about, you know, making, you know, our weekends valuable and come in, yes, and, you know, that's a long ways away, you know, we don't have to wait that long, so there are benefits to having vacations, let's just start by saying that, and I know you have some of the ways that vacations actually benefit. Oh, yeah, of course, I mean, it leads to better health, it leads to better and more creativity, because you come back and you're rested, and you know, you've got some things on the back burner that you've been mulling over that you're ready to jump in with, a better job performance, you know, you're rested, you're ready to do some stuff, and honestly, it just leads to overall better life satisfaction, you know, you're helping yourself find that balance between work and downtime. And I can see the better health thing, too, because you're relieving stress, and, you know, stress leads to all kinds of different, you know, conditions and things like that, but I've got a statistic, I know you're not surprised, I've got a statistic of 2024 is happening right now, so only 48% of U.S. workers take their vacation time from work.
Yeah, that's crazy, you and I don't fall into that. Yeah, we ain't in the 48%, and we don't understand that, but for whatever reason, people are not taking their time off. I think people sometimes feel guilty about being off. I feel guilty about being off.
I don't either, or, you know, I don't want to, I don't want to take off because nobody else can do this, or when I get back, there's so much I got to do it. There's a lot of reasons people don't, but you and I are firm believers in taking a break every now and then. Yes, and luckily, you know, we have some built-in breaks that come along every few days, and we follow those weekends. So, we're going to talk a little bit now about how we can use those weekends a little bit better and make them be mini vacations.
I'm liking this. Yes, I love it, and I think the first thing we need to do is be vocal about our intentions. You know, when the weekend comes, and, you know, when it's Friday afternoon, people know I'm not cooking anything, okay? That is my break time.
I'm not doing anything, probably not cleaning up. I don't do much of anything on Friday afternoons. So, I'm tired. Yeah, I'm tired from the weekend.
I need to rejuvenate. So, learn to say to yourself, this is my break time. You know, say it out loud. That's right, and say it to the people that are in your circle, too.
Oh, that's harder. That's harder. But, yeah, like letting, being vocal with yourself and others, like, okay, tonight, like you said, I'm not cooking. We're getting pizza, or everybody's on their own tonight for dinner, you know, or, you know, Saturday morning, I'm not getting up and cleaning all day.
We're going to go do X, Y, and Z. But saying it out loud and sharing it with the people in your circle so that, you know, people can respect your boundaries. You're really setting yourself some boundaries on others. You know what's tough for me to do is to not make breakfast on the weekend, on a Saturday morning, and I want to, like, sleep in.
I feel guilty if I don't get up and make breakfast because that's the only time I have to cook a full breakfast. Yeah, I understand that, for sure. But you make a brunch, girl. You make a brunch and enjoy it.
Exactly, exactly. So communication comes into place. You're saying we need to let those around us know that, you know, it's my downtime. I'm not going to be doing this.
I'm not going to be checking work emails at that time. So you might not hear back from me, or you might hear back from me on Monday about this. Yes, and there's nothing wrong with that. You're just setting boundaries.
You've got to protect your face, you know. Right. So what about the stuff we have to get done, though? Right, and we don't want people to think we're saying, hey, don't worry about that, because there are things, you know, that around your house that need to be done.
You know, you don't want to just put them all forever, because then it becomes a mountain. But designate times to do those kinds of things on the weekend. You know, if you've got laundry, or if you have kids that are active in weekend events, you know, set times to do that. You know what time their game is or their practice is.
So, hey, this Saturday from 10 to 12, we're going to get this soccer field. But that afternoon, you know, we've been wanting to go try this new restaurant. That's what we're going to do. You have to do this, because you do have kids that are involved in stuff on the weekend.
So I guess you have to mentally, I'm sure you don't, like, you know, strategically plan, but in your mind, you've got to plan your times when you're going to do things. No, you're exactly right. You'll text me, like, what you got going on? And then I'll text you back, and you're like, girl, you're having a break, you know what I mean?
But it's like you're saying in my mind, I have it kind of blocked off, and this is what we're doing, this is what we're doing. So the dishes will get done here, or, you know, hey, my kids are all in them now, where everybody can help. So that's also a benefit. But, you know, designate times to do things, so you can enjoy the downtime you do have.
Yes. And, you know, one thing we want to encourage people to do, if you have to check your work email. Now, I'm one of those people, Sarah, when I go on vacation, and I'm going for a week, there's no way I can ignore my work emails for that long. So I actually designate a time each day that I read my work emails, because I'm so scared something's going to happen, and I'm not going to know about it, and it causes me stress not to check.
So I check it, I don't respond, but I do read it, but I designate a certain time for that. So can I do that same thing on the weekends? Of course, of course. That's setting your own boundaries.
I mean, just like when I take off for a week or so, I put that automatic reply up, like, hey, look, I'm not going to hear from me. Because, you know, you do wonder if you don't hear from somebody three or four days later, like, oh, so that way they at least know, hey, you know, I'm not here right now, and I may check my email later, but you will hear from me when I return, that kind of thing. So, no, I think if that helps you not be stressful on your weekend or your vacation, then you need to do that. Now, I know a lot of our listeners, they have kids pretty much 24-7 when they're not in school.
You know, they're single parents, some of them, some of them have a spouse that work a separate shift, and so they have a responsibility for the kids. Some have husbands that farm, and so they have responsibilities, you know, beyond the normal work hours. So they have kids, and it's harder for you to find vacation time to yourself when you have kids all the time. So you have to really look out for vacation-y type things that speak to kids and families.
And I know it's winter right now, but, you know, during the warm weather, there are a lot of opportunities for that. You know, you've got local pools and water parks and lots of outdoor things to do, but there are also things to do while the weather is not great. You know, there are library activities. I know the library is one of your favorite places to go.
It is. I love to read, and my kids, well, one of my kids especially enjoys reading, but, you know, that's an outing, and, you know, it's a good place to go that I can come home and still be vacationing because I can drift off into one of my books, you know. We also have a lot of our towns, and even towns in near proximity where we live, have museums and things like that, or, you know, attractions that we could go to when it's cool or raining or whatever. And even my family, even in the winter, you know, one of the sunny, warmer winter days, we're going to go outside, and we may go for a walk or something.
We'll go to the party even in the winter if the weather's good. Yeah, so involving the kids in your weekend vacation, you know, that's a good way to really just kind of enjoy yourself. Take a mental break from the stress. Play.
Adults need to play. Play is important for adults, and so there's no better way to play than to get involved with something your kids are doing. Throw the ball around outside, like you said, on those sunny days, or, you know, raise your kids, or do something silly. Just get out of the house.
Yeah, get out of the house and do something fun. Yes, you know, there may be time, though, as adults, like, if whether you're in a couple relationship or you're single, like, you still want to do something adult-ish. Oh, yes, yes, yes. You know, so if you have access to a babysitter, that's great, or you may have, you know, kids that you have an older sibling that can take care of the little ones, but that's an opportunity for you to kind of do a vacation thing where you go out to eat with friends or with your spouse or partner or yourself, you know, sometimes it's nice to be by yourself or to go to the gym or to get that massage that you've been wanting.
People do things like that when they go on real vacations. I mean, we like to go out to eat, and some people like to get pampered when they go on massages. You know, other people, they still like that gym routine or taking some kind of class. You know, there are all kinds of things from pottery to painting to just a dance.
Anything you want to do that's out of the ordinary, but it's something you want to do, not have to do. I mean, that's your local YouTube extension office maybe offering, you know? Yes, yes. A lot of opportunities for education or hobby, whatever.
Yeah, so, you know, that's a way for you to just kind of get away from the norm. Yes, exactly. I think we have to think, too, though, to me all about, like, let's be real, there are some barriers that keep us from doing these things. And I'm not just tired, probably not being tired, you know, but money is definitely one, for sure.
You know, we've listed massage and going out to eat and hiring a babysitter. Well, that makes money, you know? And that may not be something that even, you know, any of us can do right now. You know, we're having expensive money and things like that.
So, I think it's important to find those free things to do. Like, I keep coming back to, like, the library and events offering your community that are free, those kinds of things. Or, you know, a lot of movie theaters have, like, cheaper matinee times and stuff like that. So, you know, look for those opportunities that are free or that are less expensive, you know, those things that we can do.
Yeah, you're right. Because when we hear vacation, we think, well, I don't have the extra money, it's January. But you're absolutely right. We have to think out those things that are no cost or low cost that we can do and enjoy those.
And, you know, you mentioned lack of time. You know, we are busy. We're trying to cram a lot into small weekends. But you might have to skip something.
Let something else wait so that you can have some vacation time. You know, you really need to mop the floors. Just have to put that off for a little while. Like you said, you can't put it off forever.
But, you know, make that time to mentally relax and just deal with the other stuff that you have to deal with a little bit later. Or if you're like me, I relax better once I deal with what I need to deal with. You know, I relax well when I've still got a bunch of things on my to-do list. So my MO is to get my to-do list checked off and then I can relax.
No, I'm with you. Like it's hard to just chill when, if I look around and the living room is a mess or there's a pile of laundry that needs to be folded. Like, I'm with you. I'd rather just get that done and enjoy the rest of the time I've got it for sure.
Yeah. I think another option too, we kind of touched on this a little bit, is to, if money or time is an issue, like take a day and be a tourist in your own area. I mean, aren't there places where you live that you've ever been that other people like come to there? Oh, yeah.
There's a lot of places I've been that people talk about. Then people come from other cities and states to visit my city and I haven't even gone. Yeah. So, you know, if you just need to get out of the house, take a drive and go do one of those things.
Or you and I, like we are kind of little foodies. Like we love to eat at different places. Well, hey, there may be a new restaurant that I haven't been to that everybody's talking about. Or, you know, I think about when you took me and a friend of ours to eat brunch at that brunch spot in Jackson that I heard about but just hadn't been to.
Man, I would have missed out on some good food. Right. Going places for the first time, you know, just taking time out. One thing I did, and, you know, I used to live in Nashville.
A lot of people that know me know that, listeners. But I recently, last year, went on a double-decker bus tour of Nashville and saw it as a tourist. And I had never done anything like that. And so these sites that I was, you know, used to going by all the time and streets that I had walked on and things like that, I saw them differently riding with touring and listening to some of the narration.
I learned some history that I didn't know. So you may learn some things about your community if you look at it a little bit differently. So, you know, if you want to spare a few dollars, you can do like a guided walking tour if you're in a larger city or a bus tour. And that may be another way to look at it like a tourist.
But I absolutely agree with going out of your way to try to, you know, eat different places. Because, you know, I can think about my house where I live. And in every direction from my house, there is a neat spot to go and eat. Oh, yeah.
Not a chain. It's just really unique. Yeah. And then you get to meet, like, local people.
And there may be, you know, places to visit in that area that you can drive to that are free or whatever. Kind of just make a day-to-day out of it for sure. Yes. So we talk about going all these places.
Now, there may be some people listening that are saying, on my weekends, I don't want to go run all these places. I run and do this commute all week long. And I just want to be still. I mean, I'm that person sometimes.
What do we have? Yes, I'm definitely that person. A lot of times, what do we have for those people? Because they still need a mental vacation.
Honestly, Sunil, I'm going to say do whatever activity refreshes you the best. Is that a nap? Is that maybe taking a long bath? Or for me, I'll be reading.
Oh, I'm with the bath and the nap. I'm already there. I would love nothing more than to curl up on a cold day with my favorite blanket and a good book and a fire going. Man, I will feel like I am on vacation.
You know, Ben's watching a show or catching up on your favorite series you haven't been able to see. Those can be little vacations for us at home. You never have to leave your house. If it refreshes you and you feel invigorated by it, then go for it.
Find a new recipe. You know, some people love to try recipes. And, you know, who has time during the week to try a random recipe? Maybe it's not something that you feed your family for dinner, but it's something you want to try.
The weekend is a good time for you to, you know, try that. And a lot of people do find peace and relaxation in the kitchen. Yes, exactly. Or if you have a creative outlet, you know, if you like to paint or sew or crochet or whatever, you know, find a time to do that.
It's important because it makes you feel better. Right, right. And I think all of this is a good place to start at the beginning of the year. If you're not taking time out to enjoy your weekends and you find that you are leaving for vacation time, let's switch that up a little bit and start taking advantage of, you know, this time that we do have off work.
However, it's not all or nothing, Sarah. So we don't have an entire day to dedicate to any of these activities. We can grab an hour or two here and there. Right.
That's exactly right. Yes. And don't feel any pressure. sure to like fill the day you know that's raising me out more if i can steal away a couple of hours and get lost in a book then i have succeeded at taking a little mini vacation yes yes and if this coming weekend is just too busy for you and you don't get a chance to kind of you know sneak off and do something you love the good news is another vacation is just a few days away if you do something like that we get 52 built-in vacations that is a really good way to look at it it's a wonderful way to look at it we've just got to learn how to enjoy them because we already know it's better health it's better job performance and it's better life satisfaction so and we need to be intentional about it and you know time is something we can't get back so no we can't so 2024 is here and we are in year six we're kicking off year six of bringing it home i'm excited i hope our listeners are excited for what we're going to bring them this year so stay tuned what we're doing and in the words of bob marley now i know that he knew how to make his weekends feel like vacation i'm sure i could if i lived back on the beach like that i mean every day would feel like a vacation but he would want us to live the life we love and love the life we live see you later