I’m on vacation. 

That might not seem like that big of a deal, but this is the first real vacation I’ve taken in lo these many years.

Wherein REAL is defined as “not taking work along.”

And is further defined as “not quite the same thing as having a good time camping with beloved friends and drinking a pale ale in an inner tube and having many lovely moments but really it all still seems like a lot of work and unnecessary discomfort to one’s precious little city slicker self.”

And is also defined as “significantly different than going to the ocean for the whole summer with beloved family and having an absolutely dreamy time but also continuing to run one’s business the whole entire damn time so there is never a real sense of respite.”

I’m trying this crazy exotic lark. 

This “vacation” thing you hear so much about.

I’m going to the coast, folks.

I’m going to commune with the ocean, look at the moon (it’s full this weekend!), and do a whole lot of NOTHING.

(We’ll see if I’m stark raving mad, huddled by my iphone like it’s a campfire, within a couple days.)

Here’s how I’m making this stick– I’m not taking a laptop with me.

What the whaaat???!!!  Stop the presses!!!!  Again, I understand that this is probably not a big deal to most people, but I’m a tad bit tethered to my sweet ergonomic keyboard.

I know myself.  If I have an actual computer, I won’t be able to stop myself.  I’ll be checking email, writing blog posts, just tweaking– just for a second!– the copy for my new program.  Then I’ll get sucked into the entrepreneur vortex and not emerge for several hours, whereupon my furious spawn will pronounce “All you EVER do is work!” and I will have nothing to say in my own defense.

So here’s what I’m doing: I’m giving myself the best possible chance of the outcome I want, a real ocean vacation, by doing the following: 

1.  Using social pressure by declaring it out loud, to you, that that’s what I’m doing.

2.  Putting systems in place so that I know that it’s OKAY for me to do that; ie, my wonderful assistant is manning the decks, and there is an autoresponder on my email, and I cleared my fridge of everything funky before I left.  And I’m writing this ezine a week early.

3.  Putting a physical barrier in place (not taking a computer) to keep me from slipping into old habits.

So tell me, how can YOU set yourself up for success this coming week?  

What’s something you want to get done next week?  Can you use the power of accountability, put support into place, and use a physical prompt?

Maybe you have a friend text you to ask you if you’ve completed a certain task, or you put it on Facebook, or you hire help, or you sleep in your running shoes.

I’d love to hear about it, except that I can’t; I’ll be sitting on the beach, not looking at email, thinking the opposite of Deep Thoughts; thinking Big Empty Beautiful White Space In My Head thoughts.

I predict it’ll be dreamy.  Unless it’s another trip to Crazytown.  You just never know.

much love,
Anna