LAUREN LIVES

Working within the freelancing world comes with a lot of pros and cons. And a lot of times, those pros and cons are synonymous with one another. For example – you get to work for a lot of different companies, on a lot of different shows, and with a lot of different people. But sometimes you really love your coworkers and you’re not ready to say goodbye as quickly as your end-date creeps up. Freelance work also means that you can take time off between your gigs, but it comes at the price of zero PTO, zero sick days, and zero holiday pay. So anytime you come down with the flu, plan a trip with friends, or have some kind of family emergency, you don’t have the luxury of “getting paid anyway.” On the other hand though, it teaches you to be hella smart about money, because you never know when your boss might call you and say, “change of plans…you’re off this week.”

But sometimes, that week off comes at just the right time.

This week I got to partake in “Staycation.” Meaning, one whole week of no work, but also no pay. And so it’s kind of like a vacation, but you stay home instead.

A friend of mine – running her own business while working an additional job – recently posted on Instagram about how she needed to step away for a few days in order to take care of herself. Because we’re all so go-go-go all the time, that sometimes we forget to slow down for a minute or two and take in life and be appreciative and do things solely for our own well-being. Her post really resonated with me, and so I took my Staycation to do all of those things.

During my Staycation of 2017, I got shit done. I cleaned the apartment that I’ve been neglecting, I organized the garage, I worked on wedding thank you notes and the big To-Do list I’ve been adding things to but not crossing anything off of. I ran errands and made appointments and went to puppy classes and took care of my plants. I threw Al a birthday party! Like I said, I got shit done. But I also did things for me. I enjoyed beach sunsets almost daily, I drank wine with girlfriends out back, I tried out a new brewery and ate at a restaurant I’ve been wanting to go to. I took morning and evening walks and fitnessed in the afternoons. I got my nails done, went hiking, took myself to a movie, went for a night out on the town with the girls, and sang karaoke. I sat at my sewing machine for two days and made myself clothes. And I drank my coffee slowly.

And now I’m heading back into the work week feeling refreshed and happy and accomplished! I’m so thankful that my friend made that Instagram post, and I hope that someone out there maybe needed to hear this too! Aside from all of that, thanks to everyone who made my Staycation of 2017 so worthwhile! I’m one lucky gal 🙂

xox