MaxE may have been unimpressed by our week off, but his Mama mostly enjoyed it. I have to say mostly since I ended up getting super stressed about finishing my redesign for Eat Laugh Purr by the end of my vacation. And who placed such a crazy deadline on a girl who was supposed to be chilling out? Me. And boy, was I being cuckoo!
Or really optimistic. 🙂
I am really, really in love with the new look, and I can’t wait to share it with you. It’s honestly going well overall, but once you start adding some of the bells and whistles, it can get a bit hairy sometimes. Things that should be simple are not and things that you expected to be complicated—exceed your expectations.
Sometimes I give up. Yell. Pout. Go whine to MaxE who is unimpressed. Get mad and decide that I am smarter than a computer.
Errrrr … to be clear, I am not smarter than a computer. 🙂
But I am not a quitter. So I try, try and try again until I figure it out.
Letting Go is Hard and Easy
I realized last Friday that I was not going to get everything done in time for me to install the new site on Saturday. There were still several things that needed coding and were new to me, which typically means that I need to allow plenty of time to dink around.
At first I panicked and pushed myself harder, which only made it worse. I was making mistakes and not feeling remotely zen and relaxed. My vacation was going up in flames.
So I stopped.
I wasn’t going to make my self-imposed arbitrarily set deadline and the world would not end because of it. I needed to put on my big girl pants and let go.
What’s the Real Goal?
My goal for taking last week off was to recharge my batteries. I was feeling burnt out and cranky. Sure, it would have great to unveil the new site when I returned, but it wasn’t a do or die situation. It was a secondary goal and one that actually had a lot of flexibility.
Some goals are hard and fast. Others are not. It doesn’t mean they aren’t important, but it does mean that they shouldn’t supersede a far more important goal—like getting my mojo, creativity and energy back.
MaxE had been giving me the dreaded cat stare of disdain all week long due to my neglect. My promises of playtime and snuggles had not been kept. He and I both deserved better.
So I made it up to him and myself over the weekend. We played and relaxed and slowly the tension started to fade away. It was a good reminder how easy it is to get distracted by other things and forget what you’re really working towards. I’m glad I eventually remembered and honored the purpose of my vacation and let go.
Photo courtesy of Randy Heinitz via flickr.
Welcome back from your vacation Tanya!
I know how it is to want to take some time off but you sneak in some work in between…guilty!
I’m glad you made the decision to put down the work and get back to your vacation. Sure we would have loved to have seen the new site but taking your time is the best thing to do…been there, done that LOL.
Hope the week back is going well! Happy Wednesday and say hey to Max!
Thanks, Corina! Love the new gravatar picture too! When I worked in Corporate America it was actually easier for me to turn it off, but at home, my office is always there, beckoning to me. 🙂 Fingers crossed that it will go live this weekend! Most of the heavy lifting is done, now it’s just fine-tuning everything. 🙂 Max says Meow back!
I’m at that point of burning out so I’m taking this morning off at least and doing some beach volleyball training…yes this is relaxing. lol! Whatever keeps me away from the computer. Sometimes we can push ourselves, but it’s also good we recognize when we need a break. I haven’t been sleeping well. BTW, I’m having a yard sale on June 14. Wanna join?
Good for you, Tonya! Burn out is the worst and it’s up to us to know when we need to step away. And what a perfect day to get outside and do some training. I bet you felt loads better afterwards. Yes, I’d love to join your yard sale! I’ll shoot you an email to get all the details. Thanks for the invite!
A new design sounds very exciting. I know exactly how much hard work goes into it and just when you think you are good to go you find more things that need to be worked on.
Looking forward to seeing it. I’m sure it will look amazing!
Yes! I swear sometimes it’s all those little things and fine-tuning that eats up so much time. I’m getting closer and fingers crossed, I can transfer the site this weekend. Hopefully, it will live up to all my bragging! 🙂
This sounds so much like me and our debt free goal, Tanya!! I get frustrated b/c it’s not going fast enough, have my tantrum and then buck up and grow up. 🙂 You’re doing great, my friend. I can’t wait to see the new site design!
I’m glad I’m not the only who does this! LOL! I may pout and fuss but I usually put on my big girl pants and deal with the situation. You are doing great against your debt goal too, Laurie. It may not seem like it’s going as fast as you’d like, but you’re kicking butt!
I’m glad to hear you reassessed and caught your emotions before they got the best of you. I tend to do that, as well, and it can be challenging to let go! I hope you are able to figure out the coding stuff – I can’t wait to see your new “digs”! 🙂
It is a challenge to let go. I was back to where I originally stressed and unhappy and was like – why? Why am I doing this to myself? Ack! Glad it finally sunk in and let myself relax and enjoy my vacation. Hopefully the new digs will be unveiled on Monday. Fingers crossed!