I missed you all! Yes, I literally missed you and went MIA these past two Fridays due to being on a REAL vacation. And just so you know, the last REAL vacation I went on was with my daughter back in May 2019 (before COVID hit hard here in the US). Toodlez (my daughter) and I explored the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and all things Arizona while we were gone.
And guess what? This REAL vacation I just experienced was another mother-daughter excursion to unfamiliar territory — a far-away land known as North Carolina.
Unfortunately, I have a tendency to procrastinate at times. So, getting a blog post out before traveling wasn’t going to happen in my creative world. I was totally scrambling just to get packed and sent off to the airport in time. And, last minute out-of-town prep has a way of moving the routine, day-to-day priorities out of the way so traveling progress can take flight.
Not to mention, I was simultaneously trying to handle the last minute travel stuff as well as organize some of the daily household responsibilities for the next few days (I would be gone), so I could leave things as seamless for the men of the house before heading off into the sunset (or clouds) — literally.
I managed to leave them behind in pretty good shape, although this required me pulling an almost all-nighter, but it was worth it. I slept on the plane — a little. And when I finally arrived at my destination, the tiredness disappeared as the looming trees of North Carolina became my latest infatuation.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE TREES IN NORTH CAROLINA! I wish I could have figured out a way to ship some of them back home with me.
Anyway, there was a lot to love about this trip — the people we visited, the fellowship we had, the activities we participated in, the places we went, the abode where we stayed, the food we ate, and on and on . . . There was no shortage of appealing aspects to draw this mother and daughter in. No major concerns at all — other than . . .
The break in my routine, which I wholeheartedly welcomed.
But, guess what happens when you break your weekly schedule with no predetermined plan for how to jump back on the “routine” bandwagon when it’s time to resume regular programming?
Well, you have a phenomenon like the one I’m going through right now — typing up this blog post outside of my regular programming. Yes, I returned home intact. (Thank you, Heavenly Father.) But no, I didn’t come back creatively unscathed. In fact, the return flight to Degrees of Maternity has been a little messy, I must say.
And here’s what I mean . . .
The mind hasn’t been conditioned to get back into the swing of writing just yet. (I absolutely did NO writing while I was on my 6-day vaca. I didn’t even lift my hand to write a single, solitary email.)
And quite naturally, I’m still on a high from all the wonderful things I got to do while gone and have been looking at pictures, videos, and YouTube coverage of the events I was fortunate enough to participate in. So, doing any type of creative work has pretty much been on standstill until this very post.
I’m also playing a little catch-up with the majority of the household responsibilities because of being away. This backed-up state forces me to work double time to fall in line with my normal state of being, which was honestly somewhat out-of-whack because of small disruptions to the routine in order to prepare for the trip. So, let’s just say that I have no shortage of things to do. I’ve got job security, folks.
I guess what I’m trying to say with all of this is that it’s important to plan for your return to creative work after a hiatus — whether the time away is due to a vacation, recovery from illness, mental health break, family business that takes priority over the creative work, reset and/or pivot in creative strategy, etc.
Simply stated, PLAN YOUR RETURN. It’ll save you from trying to resume your creative routine in a willy-nilly sort of way. As a matter of fact, a structured approach to a creative return may save you from abandoning your creative role for an unintended, extended period of time. Because everyone knows that the longer you stay away from something, the easier it becomes to stay away from that something.
Whew! Good thing I didn’t have two weeks away to gawk at North Carolina’s trees. If I was given more than a week of vaca with no writing, I’d probably need some type of forced creative intervention to help me get back to my creative first love. For sure, I’ve determined that BIG breaks from writing are just not good for me.
And even better than planning how to return to your creative routine (after vaca) is to simply take a bit of your creative routine with you on vaca.
In hindsight, what I should have done and what I’ll try to do next time I’m on hiatus is to write (even if it’s just a fraction of what I’d normally do) while away from the regular creative routine. That way, I can keep the writing momentum going and prevent any creative setbacks due to writing inactivity. So . . .
What do you do when on vacation — totally pull away from ALL creative work or do some creative work to keep the momentum going?
What things have you done to help get you creatively back on track after returning from vaca?
degreesofmaternity.com 
Hey Phil – I pray you’re having an awesome week thus far. Now, you say you’re not “creative,” but I don’t know that I buy that at all. Anyone who attempts to put words down on paper (or computer) to “create” a literary work has to be using a special part of the brain devoted to capturing the attention of others through their words. That sounds creative to me. Plus, I’ve seen your blog and your comments on my blog, so you’re not fooling me, Mister. I see right through that facade of yours. YOU absolutely ARE creative. You are creating right now, and I bet it’s some good stuff too. You know I’ll be in line to support your finished product once it comes into fruition. All that life experience and wisdom and such. I’m here for it all. And, I’m so proud of you and the progress you’re making. Keep it up. By the way, I appreciate the discipline you have in how you carry out your goals. Being able to get back on track after a break in the routine is a great skill to have — one in which I must fine-tune a bit. Thanks for giving your 2 cents worth. (It was more like 2 dollars worth.)
LikeLike
Jana, You raise an interesting point regarding “creativity”. Before making any comment, I will answer your questions directly. Firstly, I do nothing at all that is creative if I go on holiday, other than take photos of interesting places. I steer clear of a much as I can of what I consider to be my usual routine. Secondly, getting back on track to me is the same as going back to a full time job after a holiday. It is something that just has to be done.
Now let me explain why the above is true in my case. I have no real drive to create anything really. I look at everything very logically and if I want something done, I just do it. There is no real underlying creative need involved. I am writing this because – well, I like what you do, so I make comment. It is all a part of the conversation. As you know, I am writing a historical novel, not because of any creative drive, I just take it as a challenge.
By the way, I am on page 176, so about half way there.
When we first started communicating with you I told you I was different!!!!! Setting a challenge, enjoying the journey and then being proud of the end result does me. I am, though, jealous of everyone who has a creative bone in their body, but that is not me. I tried music, dance and art when I was younger, but I was not good at any. No creative bones in this body!!!! That is enough of that.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to add my 2 cents worth.
Regards, Phil
LikeLiked by 1 person