It’s officially Winter Break for me as of 4 p.m. today, and this is an unusual Winter Break, as I’m sure it is for others. Winter Break in the past tended to fill up quickly with lunches and dinners with family, friends, and former students. There were typically no fewer than seven movies I’d go see in theaters. And of course, Christmas Eve services and Christmas Day celebrations were a highlight.
None of that is happening this year. And maybe it’s not happening for you, either. So at the risk of sounding preachy, I wanted to offer unsolicited advice about how to manage extended breaks mostly alone. Because even though my Winter Breaks could be busy, I’m a natural homebody and actually spend quite a bit of my breaks from school alone.
I was thinking today about how to best manage the next 18 days (!) of break, and it really boils down to two things: planning, and giving myself things to look forward to.
I started with that tonight–I’d found a recipe for Zuppa Toscano a couple of weeks ago that’s been haunting my dreams. So I decided earlier this week that after musical call backs ended and my break officially started, I would gather the ingredients and make a batch (and boy does it make A BATCH). I looked forward to this all week, and I really think it helped me manage my mood and my stress.
After I ate a bowl of the Zuppa Toscano (with a side of Italian crusty bread), I started making a list of what I could look forward to, what I could plan, what I could structure my days around.
I have movies to watch and books to read (or listen to) and projects to work on and goodies to bake and basketball games to watch and new recipes to try. But the lists alone are not enough–the trick is to actually plan when to do these things, to capture that element of looking forward to something.
For example, I am already looking forward to Christmas morning, when I can watch Wonder Woman 84. Tomorrow and Sunday, I’ll plan out how to spend my days, making sure I have a good balance of rest, productivity, and entertainment. I’m sure there will be Zoom calls or FaceTime with people who matter, and those will be mostly spontaneous fun.
But don’t underestimate the fun that can be planned. Like in 30 minutes, I’m going to get ready for bed and watch Parks and Rec until I fall asleep. And then I’ll sleep tomorrow until I wake up, no alarm.
I’m looking forward to it.
