Every year when we go on vacation, my son gets sick. It’s always a fever on the last day. This has become such a regular occurrence that we created a vacation “go” bag packed full of Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and a thermometer.
This year, by some miracle, there was not a sniffle in sight when we got home from vacation. But, a few days later, I started feeling symptoms while on a walk with my daughter: anxious, antsy, and absent. I knew exactly what this bug was: the productivity bug.
I knew it was the productivity bug because I had just come back from vacation where I spent so much time of my week off being present with my family. It was easy for me to see how distracted I was just a few days later.
We did fun things on vacation: went to a driving range, played pickleball, swam at the pool, played mini golf, went on walks, explored. I loved being present and in the moment: noticing what I was feeling, what I was doing, and who I was with. It made me feel refreshed and focused. I wanted to bring that back with me from vacation – my souvenir.
But not even a few days later, I was falling back into my old patterns. Instead of simply enjoying a walk with my daughter on an uncharacteristically cool August evening, my mind raced to answer the question: What else could I do right now?
I could walk to my mom’s house and catch up with her
I could casually stroll by a friend’s house and see if they’re home
I could call my dad
I could check my email
I could make a to-do list for the week
Remembering how much I liked being present, I tried to resist the urge to pull out my phone to make a call, send a text, check my email. I kept walking. Then we passed a free little library. And we then passed another one.
I could put a free little library in my front yard. It can’t be that hard. I should look up how to make one. There are probably blueprints online.
I reached into my pocket for my phone. I was about to swipe up and open Google. But, I stopped myself again. This bug was tough to fight.
I didn’t have this urge on vacation. After all, I wasn’t trying to be productive, I was trying to be present and have fun.
But now that I’m home, I feel like I can’t do just one thing. I need to optimize my time to make the most of it. I need to figure out how many things I can do in an hour to accomplish as much as possible.
I stayed strong during my walk and kept my phone planted in my pocket.
I focused. I stayed in the moment. I listened intently to my daughter as she pointed out every tree, every plane, every color car we passed. I had a conversation with a very vocal cat. I decided that I shouldn’t build a little library – there were so many nearby already.
But I could build a plant swap station... I’ll google that when we get home.
Thanks for being productive with me late into the night so we can keep our weekly writing streak going!
I need to remember this one so much more often!! Loved it.