Have you ever gone on vacation and spent the first couple days just recovering from the stress of getting out the door?
And then when you got home, thought, "I need another vacation just to recover from this one"?
Yeah. Me too.
With the holidays this week and travel season in full swing, I want to share a few strategies that help me actually enjoy time away without paying for it when you get back.
Block the day before you leave
I block the entire day before I leave. No meetings, calls, or appointments.
Why? Because I need time to get email caught up, handle tasks I'm outsourcing, pack, arrange pet care, all of it. If I don't protect that day, I'll be up until 3 AM trying to get everything done.
Even if you can't take the whole day off, block your calendar so people aren't booking you at 4:30 PM with assignments that keep you at the office late.
Block your first day back
I also block my first day back from extended trips. Not taking a vacation day, just preventing myself from booking myself solid.
Because I know I'll have hundreds of emails, mail, household stuff, and usually a house with no food in it. If I don't protect that day, it gets booked as if it's any other day and I'm scrambling to catch up.
Use a pack list (and pack it with you)
I create a pack list for every trip. Each family member writes down categories (shirts, socks, shoes) and how many they packed.
The key? We pack the list WITH us. When you're packing to come home, pull out your list and use it to make sure you didn't forget chargers, toiletries, or stuff that fell under the bed.
Come home a day early
For week-long vacations, we come home Saturday nights instead of Sunday. Having that day at home before launching back into work and school helps us transition out of vacation mode.
We use Sunday to get food in the house, meal prep, get through some laundry, and unpack. Way less stressful than coming in late Sunday night and hitting the ground running Monday morning.
Give yourself time to catch up
When we come back from trips, we feel like we have to get everything done the first day. All the email. All the mail. All the laundry.
It's exhausting.
Instead, give yourself however long you were gone to get back on top of things. Took a week off? Give yourself a week to get back in the game.
Pick ONE thing per day. Day one: food. Day two: email. Day three: mail. Day four: laundry.
You won't feel so overwhelmed by all the pieces when you tackle them one at a time.
The bottom line?
Block your calendar the day before you leave and the day you come back. That's the game-changer. It gives you the time and space to handle everything so you can actually enjoy your time away.
- The TOP Planner for 2026!
If you're still using a planner that gives you pages and pages of space to write down everything you need to do, you're probably creating more overwhelm instead of less.
The TOP Planner is intentionally minimalist because it gives you exactly what you need to create a realistic weekly plan. Not a place to dump every task that pops into your head. A real plan that shows you how much time you actually have, helps you decide what matters most this week, and keeps you from overscheduling yourself.
When you grab the physical planner bundle, you get access to a course that walks you through exactly how to use it. This isn't just a planner. It's a planning system!
- Revenue Planning for Small Business Owners
If you're running a business and feeling like you're just guessing at your numbers, this mini-course is for you!
Revenue Planning for Small Business Owners teaches you how to actually plan revenue for your business instead of hoping it all works out, how to track revenue and expenses in a way that makes sense, the difference between tracking revenue versus profit (yes, they're different), how to set profit margin goals that are realistic, and how to calculate your actual salary or hourly rate.
The course also includes a personal revenue tracking template you can use right away. For $47, you'll finally understand your business numbers instead of avoiding them.
3 Questions That Will Cut Your To Do List in Half
Feeling buried under an endless to-do list? Here's the truth: the problem isn't that you need better time management skills. It's that you're adding things to your plate that don't actually need to be there.
In this video, I'm sharing three simple questions I ask myself before adding anything to my list. These questions have been total game-changers for protecting my time and energy without falling into the guilt spiral of thinking I should be doing more. Once you start using these filters, you'll wonder why you were ever carrying around so many unnecessary tasks in the first place.
|
How to Plan for Tasks Like Birthday Gifts Without Overcomplicating Everything
How do you manage things like getting birthday gifts or tasks that aren't simple and straightforward? It's easy to know when to schedule a doctor's appointment or when to tackle a specific form, but what about the things that are more subjective and require thinking or decision-making?
In this week's Weekly Buzz, I'm answering this question and sharing why I think we tend to over-categorize and over-organize things that are actually simpler than we're making them. You'll learn the fundamental principle that applies to everything competing for your time, whether it's a quick task or a bigger subjective project, and the one monthly planning habit that keeps birthday shopping from becoming a last-minute scramble.
Remember, this video is updated every Wednesday, so don’t miss it! Head to The Pink Bee app to watch now.
Friend, don’t forget—just 15 minutes of planning today can set the tone for your entire week. You’ve got the tools, you’ve got the tips, and now it’s time to take action. Let’s crush this week together!
Responses