How can Getting Away be Productive, Especially for Writers?

How can getting away be productive, especially for writers?

Do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in your day? Do you feel yourself getting frustrated when you don't accomplish something that you feel like you should have in a specified time? You could be suffering from burnout - or you might be getting there.

When this happens, I usually take a break - I get away from the official work schedule. I change things up. I might take what work I can handle on my laptop and go to a local coffee shop or the library. I work outside. But if I need more than that and have the freedom to take a break - like a vacation or a weekend trip - I will.

Does this mean I will lose all the time I could be productive? Some of it, yes. Does that mean I'll stress out even more because I know I'll miss things? Maybe. Does it mean I won't be productive at all? No.

We can be productive while taking a break by continuing with a flexible routine and choosing to accomplish relaxing and fun activities, even while on vacation. And remember, even relaxing is productive!

Time away from work allows you to recharge. It allows you to think about what's important to you and how you can make those things happen. Taking a break lets you reflect on your work and how your work contributes to what you want to be doing with your life. So, it would help if you had those breaks.

I've come up with a list of strategies for staying productive while also getting away that have worked for me. They may work for you.

Setting up a routine can help you be productive while on vacation.

If you already have a routine for your productivity, you don't have to evade that when you take a break. You simply need to modify it. For someone like me, too much chaos will only cause problems. So, I like to have some goals for the trip or a tentative schedule of what I'd like to do for which days.

Does that mean things could change? Sure. I'm not going to get upset if things shift or we must leave something for another time. These things happen. But I feel more comfortable when there is at least a list of things we want to do that everyone knows. Then, around these intentions, we can find other relaxing things to do that might also be considered productive.

Read while on vacation.

I bet you never thought of reading as a productive activity. As an author, it is a very productive activity. By reading, we are looking into the current state of the genre expectations. We get inspiration from reading. We can also let the book relax our minds and get away from the overload of current projects we may have. Reading, for anyone, is a means of escaping reality to relaxation.

Take your planners while on vacation.

I took my planners for my most recent trip. I had some time between traveling when everyone was enjoying some quiet. I didn't want to think about things too much, so I got my stickers, markers, and washi-tap out. I got my planner, went out on the deck, and began decorating and inserting my pages for the next quarter.

For me, decorating a planner is a lot like using an adult coloring book. I use the washi-tape to bind the edges of the page. I make separations with the smaller tapes and the stickers. I use the markers to highlight things on the page and set up the numbers for the calendar. It's all a work of art that I love by the time I finish. Best of all, it'll be ready to use when I get back to work.

You have fewer distractions, so use this special time.

Distraction is the main thing that can take a writer or any professional out of the zone. So, in those quiet times, when we weren't doing anything in particular, I made sure to pull out any FUN writing I wanted to enjoy. No editing. No outlining. Just fun writing.

If I weren't a writer and still wanted to be productive while I had some downtime, I'd do something else. I'd take a walk, go swimming, exercise, or try some meditation. All these things are productive for your body and mind.

Take pictures, record sound, take notes, and really feel your experience.

I don't know about you, but I usually have my phone everywhere. That means I have a very nice camera, too. A video camera on top of that, so long as I keep it charged and ready. Whether you have it connected to a cloud service or have plenty of storage, your phone can keep you productive. And using it won't even seem like a chore! It's fun.

You'll want memories of your time away, so you snap some shots, make a recording, and capture some great footage. Don't be the main character. You're not, and besides, that isn't polite. Just be the visitor, taking nothing, leaving everything as it was, and sharing your space. But capture those moments digitally. When you get back from your trip, you'll have all of this to use for social media, for creating ads, to use for books, merch, or designs for notebooks.

Take notes on interesting sights, sounds, smells, and tastes while on vacation. You'll be surprised at how much inspiration these little details will provide when you're back at work! Having your memories written down to use for later is a time saver. This is especially true for later social media posting or if you're a creative writer - these are great to have when you need a setting or a scene later.

Take your cards and wear your merch while on vacation.

You would not believe how often I've been stopped by someone complimenting my merch. I was wearing it. They liked it. And when they go out of their way to compliment it, thank them, and hand them a card to your site! Be proud of your own work and tell them about it.

You can also leave your cards in appropriate places wherever you go. Think about it like this - we generally go to places and hang out with people that mirror our tastes. If we write things that these people who come to these places might like, why wouldn't you leave a trail of cards along the way?

I like leaving my card in prominent places like the bulletin boards of the coffee and tea shops I enjoy. So long as it's a space made for sharing your information, please don't be shy about it. My card has a QR code, so curious people don't even have to take the card itself. They can scan the code to find out more.

Leave your social media & professional email alone!

Notice I always said before that you should use any digital media you collect later for social media. There are excellent reasons for that. Are you even relaxing if you get into your social media during your vacation or while taking a break? This is marketing. Stop it. Unless you and your friends are goofing around on social media together, it's also rude.

You should be present for your time away from the grind. If you've gone with friends, they are all together because they care about one another and have taken time out to be with each other - not on social media.

The same goes for email! There would only be one caveat to this rule. If you are an insomniac, maybe go through and trash junk email late at night or if you're on the toilet. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

Being productive while on vacation can be stress relief in disguise.

Whoever said, "I need a vacation from my vacation," had a point. As a mother of three and a wife of one - I was usually the caregiver. And those vacations were sometimes not nearly as much fun for me as they were for everyone else. I had to clean, pack, prep, plan, clean, get people places on time, cook when needed, pack again, then wash all those clothes when we got back.

If I can find ways to be productive while getting away, and those things don't stress me out - rather, they relax me, I'll do it. It leaves one less thing to handle once I get home. Sometimes it makes the return to my everyday life less stressful.

Remember that you are on vacation!

Never do any of the things I've listed if you do not feel like doing them. They are not imperative. They are simply things you can use when you get bored or you're waiting on someone or something else.

You do not have to be “obviously” productive. You do not need to go by a schedule. Take this time to rest your mind. When you come back to everyday life, you want to be able to refocus on what is essential. If you've been too busy, you won't rest, and this will become impossible.

The most important thing about a vacation or time away from your everyday life - is resting. Relaxing keeps our bodies well. We need rest. Rest also allows our brains to reset and will enable us to evaluate our present. When we do that, we can decide better how to get ourselves to the future we want. Therefore, even resting and relaxing are productive activities.

Rachel Adams is a Southern Girl (meaning the Southern United States) who grew up in the “Bible Belt.” Her writing grew from an exploration of the culture and the hidden nuances of that culture. She began writing at around the age of 11. Rachel’s escapism as a child grew her imagination and her spirit.

As a GenXer, her original writing was done in notebooks and on an old-fashioned typewriter. This was before the internet existed. Though most of that writing was destroyed, Rachel did not stop. She wrote stories about places and people around her, fictionalizing as she did. Her characters are often entangled and downtrodden by their place in life, yet willing to reach forward and either adapt to survive or find hope and strength to keep moving. She loves collaborative writing, and many of her works are co-authored with partners who share her passion for deep character development. To that end, many of their hobby writing has ended up on serial platforms such as Kindle Vella.

However, Rachel D. Adams is not just an author of fiction. She writes content for websites. Untapped Sound and Backyard Boosts are examples of this. She partners with her husband for these and other projects. On Rachel D. Adams’ MEDIUM platform, she shares personal interest stories and personal and professional development articles. Rachel firmly believes that we should all be uplifting one another! As such, she supports other authors, artists, and musicians on her social media.

In case you wondered, here are some answers: Rachel loves cooking, eating, coffee, gaming, photography, squirrels & Guinness. She’s a homebody but also loves traveling and working from remote locations. She may seem like an extrovert at times but admits to being an introvert that has to recharge her “social batteries” often.

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