Monday quote:

And there’s no cure like travel to help you unravel the worries of living today. When the poor brain is cracking, there’s nothing like packing a suitcase and sailing away.”
(from Anything Goes) ~ Cole Porter

You’re slaving away in a stressful job, with a daily to-do list that you might be able to finish in 5 months, if people would just stop adding stuff. On top of that, you’ve got issues — family, career, relationship, health, legal, whatever — there are issues. It feels like things will never let up!

The poor brain is cracking, and THIS is the time that good old Cole was talking about!

Of course, you probably wouldn’t schedule a vacation right now, but fortunately, you had the foresight to do it months ago. Now V-day (vacation day) is just a week away, so you’re down to the 7-day drill.

* V minus 7: “I can’t afford to take a week off — this mess will only get worse if I leave!” Then (because you’re already committed to the vacation), you make some lists. “Must do before vacation“. “Really should do (but life on earth won’t end if I don’t)”. And the infamous “Do on vacation” list.

* V minus 5: You have 3 weeks of work left on the “Must do b4″ list, and only 5 days to do it. You give up sleep, and subsist on coffee and granola bars. You’d skip bathroom breaks if you could, but not with all that coffee…

* V minus 3: You still have 3 weeks of work left on “Must do b4″, since a few new items have made it on. Despair and hopelessness start to kick in. Or maybe it’s just fatigue. It’s kind of hard to tell at this point.

* V minus 2: The fact that you can’t get everything done has percolated into your sleep-deprived brain, and you realize it really IS impossible! This is a good thing — it’s liberating. Now you cut “Must Do b4″ to shreds, by delegating, deleting, and deferring. (And actually doing some of it, too!)

* V-day! You’ve got a few last items to take care of before your 6am shuttle pickup, and a couple of phone calls from the airport, but then that’s it. You’re off! As you fly away or sail away, you leave those stacks of work and dratted issues behind. And through the magic of perspective, things that are farther away look smaller. Problems seem to shrink as you relax and let yourself ease into the vacation. This really works!

Cole was right! There’s no cure like travel.

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I’ve just went through this whole cycle, getting ready for our San Juan Islands women’s tour. At first it seems so hard to get out of the office, but once I do it, am I ever glad! Escaped, and free at last!