Darling friends, how are you? Every time I get to come back to the blog I get excited all over again. Don’t get me wrong – Substack is fun and creative and full of beautiful things but truly, there’s nothing like having your own space on the internet (aka a blog and website you own) to share differently. This post has been lingering in my mind for a few years, literally, because I’ve shared bits and pieces on social but never actually sat down to write it all.
So, why are we here today? Recently I was chatting with someone who was about to embark on a major life transition. Leaving a big role after several years with a plan to take the summer for R&R and family time then slowly easing back into the full-time gig life. In this chat, we talked about resetting and I mentioned how I have crafted my own version of a reset between jobs, in the seasons of burnout or just when I had extra time to take off. So today I’m sharing my reset here in hopes that you have some time coming up to have your own mini reset or feel inspired to find the time to get back on track. A few things to keep in mind:
- Every single there here is optional – you don’t have to do any of this
- You can absolutely take these days over a month or few weeks if you can’t take all the time away at once
- I am not an expert and if you’re looking for a plan tailored specifically for you and your unique needs, therapists, life coaches and other trained experts should be your first call – not (well intended) randos online 💜
Here’s what I’ve done:
- Rest Day – Although this list is in no particular order, I usually start my reset week with this day. I sleep in, don’t consume any caffeine, eat leftovers or order in and try to not to leave the house. I take as many naps as my body needs, don’t stress about reading or consuming content and keep the lights low and candles burning. Admittedly, you can have this day on a random weekend or just during a personal day off but if you’ve been burnt out, wanting to have a small staycation or have a long bit of time away, this is the first day to calm your body and get prepared for the next few days ahead.
- Home Day – This might be my favorite day because I love home stuff so much. My home day in this week reset looks like hanging all the art I’ve had on my list, washing and putting away all the laundry, cleaning out the fridge, checking my cleaning cabinet to make sure I’m stocked, scheduling my next two cleans with my cleaner and knocking out anything else that’s been on my home list.
- During longer breaks, like the two weeks I take off during the holidays, I’ve have more than one home day that will include organizing and decluttering. Going through my closets and cabinets and drawers and bookshelves and clearing out the items I don’t want while making more space for the items I want to keep. I also purchase two large storage bins and keep them by the front door for all the donations and items I plan to list on FBMP. The bins help me get the items “out” of my space and see my progress during the long break.
- Tip: when the home tasks felt too overwhelming, I’ve often outsourced to maintain my own sanity. So maybe I still take time to do all the decluttering and organizing but I pay for a full-home deep clean while I’m enjoying my wellness day. Or outsourcing the decluttering with a small home organization package (~3 hours) to tackle the spaces that are too big to handle alone. I’ve also sent all my dirty laundry to a service to have it arrive back to me folded and ready to put away. There are a thousand ways to make home tasks more manageable depending on your strengths and personal capacity and resources you can allocate.
- Wellness Day – This day and the home day always compete for the number one spot because there’s nothing I love more than being pampered. My wellness day includes sleeping in, walking to pick up my favorite matcha, going to a tough workout class, getting a mani and pedi and finishing the day with a massage. Often around holidays like Christmas and Mother’s Day, you can buy packages from local spas that include a number of services, with add-on options, lunch and a gift to go like candles or body oils used during the massage. Smart tip is to pick up one of the packages before you need it so you can “surprise” yourself with a wellness day at any time.
- Rotting Day – This day and the rest day can be blended into one, if needed, but rotting day for me looks more like binging the TV shows I’ve saved, scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration and catching up on Substack posts. Similar to the rest day, I attempt not to leave my house and make all of my meals as easy as possible by ordering in or eating leftovers. Rotting day is always fun after the adulting or house days since both require a ton of energy and these days are a great way to balance action and calm.
- Adulting Day – This is exactly what it sounds like and every bit of annoying but oh so necessary. Every appointment I’ve been needing to make like teeth cleaning; subscriptions I’ve been needing to cancel, savings that needed to be transferred to HYSA and so on all happen on this day. This is also the day I go through all the mail, order any prescriptions and restock my medicine cabinet in prep of flu and sick seasons using my HSA balance. I get the car cleaned, take the dog for a bath, drop off my dry cleaning and donations from the house day. I mean, seriously, it’s the busiest day but after this day is done, I feel like a brand new woman and the weight of the world is off my shoulders. Similar to the house day, lots of these things can be outsourced or simplified by having a dry cleaning service that pick-ups and drop-offs at your door or using a mobile car detailing service or a mobile dog groomer so you don’t have to leave the house. 9/10 I outsource the donation drop-offs by putting everything in a Lyft/Uber and sending them to donation locations that unload the car so the driver doesn’t have to do any extra work. Uber Connect is great for this because it’s specifically meant for packages under a certain value and size with a reduced costs since there’s not a rider in the car.
- Joy Day – Although I believe in having a bit of joy in every day, when you’re overwhelmed or finally able to take time off after a while, this day feels vital to set-up. This day is focused truly on the things that bring me joy and would be included in my ideal day or “best day ever”, if you could plan it. Going to the museum, walking the city with my favorite beverage, grabbing drinks with friends on a patio or rooftop, winding down in matching pajamas with a glass of wine and a good book. This is also the day I love to start planning my next vacation to give myself something fun to look forward to. The planning allows me to end the day, and maybe entire week, on a high note.
My daily non-negotiables:
- Brain dump every morning on paper (gets everything out of my head so I can truly be where my feet are)
- Consume at least 8 glasses of water
- Get at least 20 minutes of direct sunlight a day
- Sleep when tired (seriously, if I needed a nap, I would nap. If I wanted to sleep in, I would sleep with no alarm. If I wanted to go to bed at 8pm, I would be cuddled up at 7:59pm – no shame)
- Evening joy of watching a holiday movie, usually starting no later than 9pm (y’all know how much I love holiday movies by my commitment to 8pm home showings every night of December)
- Bonus points: 20-30 minute walk outside (can double dip as your at least 20 minutes of direct sunlight)
So six days, which can easily be turned into five by combining the rest and rotting day, or six days that can easily spread to 10-12, depending on your personal load, is my weekish reset. During longer holiday PTO or breaks in between jobs, I may take a day trip or quick overnight somewhere in the mix.
The days I outlined above have been saving graces for me in many seasons and work well as someone who has full control over their schedule, a decent number of PTO days and no children. If you have children or a spouse or caregiving responsibilities, these days can and will look different and may include more outsourcing for routine help, getting away alone and/or tag teaming responsibilities with your life partner.
Fully recognizing this reset doesn’t touch professional life. For work related resets, I usually take a few weeks and spend time reflecting, trying new routines, reviewing my goals for the year, mapping against my greater career aspirations and so on and so on. That’s an entirely different post that will need more knowledgeable resources than myself but I am happy to make that happen if it feels helpful 💕
No matter how the cards fall, I hope we all lean into more rest, more joy and more being where our feet are in the current madness we call reality. Thanks so much for reading! xo 🫂
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