One of my favorite parts about being on vacation is all the relaxation and calm that comes with it. I don’t really care what I do on a vacation, whether it is museums, beaches or a cozy cabin, because no matter where I am, I can find a cozy spot to curl up and read. I made a promise to myself when I came home from Florida that I would try to live each day like a vacation. Lately I feel like I just go to work, go home, sleep and do it again. I am trying to find more purpose in my everyday life and a reason to jump out of bed in the morning. Okay, so this current snow storm is making it a bit tricky to do, but with the warmer spring weather I hope this gets easier!

Here are some ways I can continue to live each day like I am on vacation…

1. Wake Up Early On vacation, my alarm went off at 9am every morning and I was usually awake before it even went off. I started the day with a warm cup of coffee and was eager to start the day. On beach time, I didn’t spend that much time fussing with my hair or makeup, but I did enjoy the extra time in the morning to read the newspaper or watch the morning news. There is this sense of calm in the morning when you wake up early instead of rushing out of the house being late to something!
2. Eat breakfast I go food shopping weekly stocking up on different breakfast options because I know how important it is to eat in the morning. One thing I want to start doing again is sitting down to eat a full breakfast. More and more I buy frozen waffles or breakfast sandwiches to heat up and eat in the car. On vacation, I was able to eat a full breakfast and read The New York Times while I slowly woke up in the morning.
3. Exercise Everyday I think I actually lost weight during my vacation. I did choose the more healthier options when we ate out, but I also did a LOT of walking. After two days at Universal, I could feel my legs getting toned. Everyday I walked along the beach or we would walk and get dinner. As I write this, I really want a Snapple but that is two floors down and I am too lazy to go downstairs and get one. I need to encourage myself to stop being lazy and to walk more!
4. Clean up after yourself everyday At all of the hotels we stayed at, at night we would tidy up before we went to bed. I do try to keep my bedroom clean, but lately I have been slacking. With small changes, like putting my toothbrush in its holder instead of on my sink or putting my shoes away when I get home can all add up to keeping my space clean.
5. Go with the flow My life now is so organized and every hour is planned out in my planner. When I leave the house in the morning, my parents have to look on the fridge to check what my schedule is because it changes weekly. Working two part jobs with hours and days always moving around, I am confused myself where I need to be! I feel so stressed trying to get everything done as soon as possible because I do not have weekends to get stuff done anymore. I need to make time to do nothing and just go with the flow when there is a hiccup.
6. Plan your meals When we were at Siesta Beach, we made our own breakfasts and sandwiches everyday. It saved so much time and money when we planned our meals that week. Too many times I come home from work late at night and curl up on the couch with a bag of chips. This is a habit I need to stop before I literally become a couch potato!
7. Have a stocked fridge On vacation, I feel like I always have food around me. Whether it is snacks or a full meal, I am never hungry. When I came home from vacation, I opened my fridge and while it was fully stocked with food, it is nothing I will eat. By having healthier options in my fridge, I can stop eating Tostitos for dinner every night!
8. Read everyday This has been a new habit I have been doing at night lately. Most nights I would just fall asleep to Netflix and usually fall asleep past midnight. Now I keep my laptop in another room and read a few chapters before bed. In February, I read two books and this month I am tackling Game of Thrones. It is a good habit for your health and helps you get all the reading you wanted to get done!
9. Spend time outdoors I think this one is self explanatory. Too often we keep ourselves inside at work all day, get in our car and just head for the house and we don’t leave for the night. I walked around so much when I was in Florida I got to explore and spend time self reflecting.
10. Sit and do nothing Besides the twenty minutes you spend scrolling Instagram at night when you are supposed to be going to bed, when was the last time you sat and did nothing? This is something I need to work on because I keep filling up my free time with new home projects or a load of laundry. I need to spend more time at my vanity applying a new face mask or sitting on the couch doing nothing. A little bit of meditation a day is better than a cup of coffee!
11. Have a simplified life When you go on vacation, you bring only the stuff you need. Then when you are going out on an adventure for the day, you only bring the essentials. This trip really helped me put a lot into perspective. If you have been following along on my blog, you have read that I am throwing out or donating a lot of my stuff this past year. So when it came to pack for Florida, I wasn’t all that overwhelmed by what to pack. I didn’t buy (that many) new clothes because I knew I had outfits in my closet. Having a more simplified life without a lot in it has brought me so much happiness and calm lately.
12. Throw trash out immediately You know how amazing room service is when you are on vacation? Well you can also have that same feeling of having a clean room when you are home without the maid service. I make sure that I throw out trash immediately instead of having it accumulate. I am talking about water bottles, receipts and gum wrappers that accumulate in your car, purse or bedroom. Garbage is just unnecessary clutter that we can all live without.
13. Sweep your floors daily/weekly It takes two minutes. Just do it as much as you can and I promise your home will look so clean even if the counters are dirty.
14. Drink more water On vacation, you drink a lot more water than you do when you are at work or home. I like to keep a Smart Water in my car at all times because the size is perfect for car cup holders and at red lights it is a great habit to drink water. I just refill it when it becomes empty to not be wasteful.
15. Don’t let tv be your entertainment Okay, so besides the Harry Potter Marathon that we watched every night falling asleep, we didn’t had the tv on. Even when my phone kept going off with world events or political news, I would just read the story on my phone and then move on with my day. Can you imagine how much daylight hours I would have missed if I watched all of my shows or stayed up to date with the news!? I actually didn’t miss tv at all and found more joy going for a walk or scrolling through twitter when I was in a hammock under a palm tree.
16. Set daily goals On vacation, you have a plan of what you are going to do that day. Each day you should wake up with a to do list and big and small goals of what you want to accomplish. Even if it something small like making your bed in the morning and bringing laundry to the laundry room, these small accomplishments all add up and bring us joy. Don’t have going to work be your only goal for the day. Schedule a manicure or do a face mask before going to bed and don’t go to bed without doing it!