Taking your self-care day to the next level
Continuing the theme from last week’s #LWAStaycation post, where we talked about how to take any regular old activity and make it self-care, we are now going to talk about how to elevate your self-care day and into a full blown staycation! And the word of the day is intention!
Now what’s important to note is that a staycation is a play on the words stay + vacation. It is essentially going on a vacation where you don’t venture very far outside of your home or local community (which is why we’re exploring this right now considering current travel restrictions). But that’s it. The only difference between a staycation and a regular vacation is the location.
Everywhere in the world can host a staycation because on the flip side, it would be considered a vacation for someone who is not from that area. Even your trip to the Bahamas would be considered a staycation to the local Bahamian resident. Likewise, if you think your hometown is mundane and regular, it is an international destination for someone else. It’s time we get back to discovering the charm in our homes and local communities.
So how can we bring that staycation energy into our lives? My answer is by setting the right intention before the day arrives. The same planning, preparation, and attention to detail you put into planning a real vacation, is the same planning, preparation, and attention to detail you should apply to your staycations. Sure you can wake up one day and decide you want to take a self-care day, and you could have a great experience with what you’ve got, but if you really want to shake up your routine, and inject some life into the extended lockdown, I urge you to put in a little extra effort as you would a trip anywhere else.
Just as we travel for leisure, adventure, or to experience something new, we can think about how to recreate some of the experiences we would have on one of these trips, at home. Here are some ways to explore this:
- Order your favorite wine and five star meal
- Light candles or use essential oils
- Practice yoga
- Listen to soothing sounds that transport you to a different place
- Get dressed up fancy or sit around in a robe
- Try a virtual escape room
- Cook a new recipe
- Explore a part of town you’ve never been before
- Practice a random new hobby for the day, just for the fun of it
- Research a new culture (possibly one from wherever you were hoping to travel to)
- Take a guided dance lessons on that culture’s traditional dance (it’s got to be on Youtube)
There’s literally so much you could do (Pinterest and Youtube are great resources for DIYing your experiences). And don’t be afraid to splurge on some extra items to really make your staycation pop. Whether it’s a salon quality, plush, white robe or tickets to a virtual wellness retreat, considering you would have probably spent much more on an actual trip, allow yourself to indulge a bit. It is a vacation after all.
At the end of the day, it’s about finding the novelty in your everyday experiences. It’s why your friends might get excited visiting your hometown but you complain that there’s nothing to do. You’ve just got stuck in a routine and haven’t taken a moment to break from it.
So next time you start feeling the stuck-at-home blues, take a moment to think of some of the outdoor activities you miss and how to recreate them at home. I’m sure you’ll have double the fun figuring out how to recreate the experience and trying something new.
I want to hear from you now. Be our local tour guide and tell us, what do you think is your hometown’s best kept secret?
