Well, what a week. It ended up being a really good trip, but as I predicted very intense, in fact even more busy than I thought. There was a lot of presentations and panel discussions, networking, fancy and lunches and dinners, and late evenings. Can't complain about any of it but by the time I got home late Thursday I was EXHAUSTED!
Sleeping in a nice hotel without kids was definitely a fun change
Friday I had online training all day that I struggled to concentrate in, and then the weekend was fairly low key which was perfect. I wrote a Manifesto in my previous post to get me through the week- let's see how I went:
Eat the salad. Verdict: Mostly! At the airport I ate sushi, at the hotel I mostly chose healthier options (not burgers and chips!). On Friday when I was tired I may have eaten a donut and coffee for breakfast, but hey, some days are just like that!
Exercise every day. Not deliberately, but this ended up happening because the hotel was about 20 mins from the venue so we walked back and forth at least once per day. Given how busy we were I'll give that a pass.
Be selective with what other work I try to do this week. Yes! The out of office message helped a lot (see below), and I mainly just responded to urgent emails and did any time sensitive tasks. Otherwise it could wait.
Use the airport time to prep for my trip, plan, and relax. YES. Did this. There was one urgent task I finished off at the airport, otherwise I planned, prepped and read. It was a good and satisfying use of time. (The book I'm reading is about productivity anyway, so felt work-related anyway, ha!)
Set an out of office email message from Tuesday to Friday. As mentioned above, I did this, and it was such a helpful move. I think I'll do this much more often (even if I'm just on a solo writing retreat or something).
E enjoyed her first time bowling, although 30 mins was about the max the kids could get into it for.
On Sat E helped me go grocery shopping, and I took her to a party Sunday (her first time ten pin bowling), otherwise we were at home. I read O lots of books, E chatted to me incessantly while I did chores, and I managed to have a nap with O both days, read, and watch a show. I also had a long brisk walk Sunday morning, which was lovely, especially because it was cool (autumn is here!)
Grateful for cool, fresh mornings and trails like this
Now I'm ready for a busy but short week, and no travel for a while (until May!). This week will be a catch up week at work, and kid focused too (E has end of term activities). Looking forward to the shift in focus. Have a great week everyone!