Plan a day out

This started out as a piece about the March blues, written for people who were sick of winter and far too busy to do anything about it. Most of us said the same thing back then. I would love to get away, but there is no way right now.

If your house has gone quiet, the second half of that has probably changed. You have the time. What goes missing instead is the push. Nobody needs driving anywhere, nobody is asking what the plan is, and a whole Saturday can slide by in the kitchen without anyone noticing.

A short break is often all it takes to recharge. It does not have to be a big trip. One day out will do it.

Plan it first

Half the fun is the waiting. A date circled on the calendar gets you through a grey week better than almost anything, because you spend the week looking forward to it.

So give yourself an hour to plan. Look up the places you have always meant to go. Check the listings and see whether your favourite band or comedian is coming to town. Buy the tickets, circle the date, and pin the tickets up somewhere you will see them every morning.

A few ideas

• Be a tourist at home. Book a night or two in a hotel in your own city. There is no travel time, and you finally get to the restaurant, the play or the museum you keep saying you will get to.
• Take the last minute deal. Last minute packages are often deeply discounted, and they have a way of sending you somewhere you would never have picked for yourself. That is half the point.
• Borrow the car. Always wanted to drive a sports car? Watch the forecast, pick a good day and rent one. You do not have to own one to enjoy it for an afternoon.
• Go to the game. Get tickets to a sport you love and spend a day watching. Play a round of golf the next.
• Stay in on purpose. If going out is too much this week, make it a spa day at home. Light the candles, run a bath, look up a homemade facial and do your own manicure. Spend the whole day being looked after, even if you are the one doing it.

Pick one. Put it on the calendar before the week fills up with nothing in particular.

If you are in Ontario and would rather someone else did the planning, Elevated Experiences is my set of Ontario day trips. You can see them at https://www.elevatedliving.co/elevatedexperiences.

From the archive. First written for my journal years ago, and rewritten for life after 50.