Postcard Cabins

Expressing gratitude is a great way to train your brain to notice more things in your life that you’re thankful for. That can come in many forms – keeping a gratitude journal, expressing aloud your thanks to a friend, or our preferred method – returning to the classic art of thank you card writing. Here’s Day 8 of our 12 Days of Getaway.

Writing thank you cards might bring up memories of a nagging parent, reminding you to write notes to your school teachers, or to your aunts and uncles who had sent you gifts. Hopefully, by now, you’ve seen how others appreciate those notes, and at least have the intention of writing them more often. Even better, there’s something special about writing a thank you note for a gift that isn’t something you unwrap – thanking a friend for that one time they listened to you so thoughtfully, or expressing to a parent or parental figure how much you value their support.

This holiday season, carve out some time to sit down with a pen and some stationery, and write thank you cards.

The Elements of the Perfect Thank You Card

There are three elements to the perfect thank you card. Firstly, thank the person for something specific—the gift, the dinner, the party, their company. Secondly, keep it relevant. Why does this have meaning to you? Maybe contextualize it with why the gift coming from them in particular had an impact. And finally, broaden the scope of your card and thank them for your relationship and how much meaning and joy they bring into your life. Thank them for supporting you, motivating you, and loving you through the best and worst times. These elements ensure that you’ve drafted a solid thank you card that won’t be skimmed, and hopefully brightened their day and yours.

Want to carve out some time to write some thank you cards in nature? Book your Getaway today.

When we’re in the middle of a stressful week it can be hard to imagine that resting can, and should, have priority in our daily routine. Generally, when we think of resting, we imagine sleeping, or finally getting a large chunk of free time that we’ll be able to use as we please. But sometimes the most rejuvenating things are actually very simple and don’t take much time at all. Here’s day 7 of our 12 Days of Disconnection.

Make Time for Nature

One way to disconnect from technology and your everyday stress is to simply be in nature. You don’t need a wide-open vista with rolling hills to find nature worth observing. Finding small moments during the day to take note of birds or squirrels or the canopy of the trees is enough to find a connection to nature. And by noticing the small things—like the trees in the park across the street from your office or the way the leaves fall on the sidewalk—you’ll be practicing mindfulness.

Find a park near your house or your work, put your phone in your pocket on silent, and take a seat on a bench. Just observe all the small things about that space. Studies show that any time we can dedicate to being outside in nature does nothing but good things for our mental and physical health.

Being out in nature, away from our notifications, helps us to slow down, calm down, and remember that our stress and our feelings will come and go, but there are a few important people and things in our lives that won’t. Being in nature helps us to remember the things that are the most important to us; the people, the projects and hobbies, and the places that help us return to a state of joy.

Try heading to nature without an agenda—not even for a walk or a hike—but to just be in nature, to observe it, to hear it, and let it help you find clarity and calm.

Ready to stare out one of our big windows? Click here to book your Getaway.

With all of our notifications, the noise of big cities, and the stresses of our responsibilities, it can be hard to find time for quiet in our daily lives—even though it is so beneficial and so necessary. Fortunately, there are ways to find quiet, even in the most chaotic places and at the craziest times. Here’s Day 6 of our 12 Days of Disconnection.

Try Meditating

Meditation is a great practice that can help you to slow down, be more mindful, and to have more control over your thoughts. Especially during the holiday season, when there are so many people to meet and parties to go to, it can be especially difficult to carve out what free time you have to do nothing. Of course, the fact is that these times are when these kinds of daily grounding rituals are so important.

While meditating may seem intimidating, there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. Apps like Calm or HeadSpace offer guided meditations to help you direct your thoughts as you sit down and try to focus on your breathing. There are lots of different meditations to help you with things like anxiety or poor concentration, so you’re sure to find something that you like, and that makes a difference for you—if you do it consistently.

There are also themed meditations—with a focus on things like gratitude, confidence, and joy—that can help you to cultivate more of these themes into your daily life.

Without an app, all you need to meditate is space and time. Pick a comfy spot, sit or lie down, and close your eyes. Try to focus your attention on your breath, and how your body moves as you breathe in and out. If your thoughts stray from your breath or the physical sensations in your body, gently refocus your attention with self-compassion.

The most important thing isn’t how long you meditate, but that you sit down and you try to focus on your breathing or a mantra for even five minutes. You’ll find that it gets easier the more you meditate and that this might end up being one of the best moments of your day.

Want to try meditating in nature? Maybe it’s time to book a Getaway.

For many of us, there are plenty of spots near our homes that we have yet to explore. We might drive the same route or take the same public transportation every day, but all of a sudden, notice something that we’ve never acknowledged before. Or you may pass by a sign every day that piques your interest, that you’ve never stopped at. To help you live more mindfully this Holiday Season, here’s Day 5 of our 12 Days of Disconnection.

Discover A New Park

Discovering a new park is a great way to get acquainted with the natural world around your home. Even if you live in a big city like New York or LA, exploring the parks is a great way to get to know your city better, set aside some time to relax and time to get outside.

While you may not be able to make time to Getaway every weekend, heading out to a park that’s only a few minutes’ drive from your home is a great alternative. Just getting outside in nature is wonderful for your physical and mental health. And finding those spots that can be your respite from your daily stress are so important when you’re trying to live a balanced and mindful life.

Exploring a new park can reawaken your childlike curiosity as you get to experience new trails and new spots for the first time. Heading to a new park with your loved ones offers you a great chance to chat, get some exercise, and share the experience of recharging in nature.

Finding new parks in your area also allows you to experience the spaces that were set aside specifically for people to be in nature. You may discover some hidden gems—with waterfalls, glacial rock formations, caves, or lakes as clear as a pool—that are surprisingly close to your home. And once you discover these spots, you get to explore them and share them with your friends and family.

Want to explore an area only a couple hours from your home? Maybe it’s time to book a Getaway.

These days we are all addicted to our phones. It seems that only after we set our phones down and decide not to touch them do we realize how often we reach for them—and how much time we have when we aren’t busy scrolling through our social feeds. For a tip to help you keep an eye on your device use, here’s Day 4 of our 12 Days of Disconnection.

Take a Digital Break

Observing a digital sabbath is a great way to make disconnecting a regular part of your week. Pick one day that works best for you, and shut your phone and other devices totally off when you wake up in the morning—or better yet—before you go to bed the night before. Take this day to focus on reflecting, getting things done, or exploring your city or town—the only rule is that you can’t turn your phone back on.

You’ll notice how you’ll reach for it, and how you might want to check certain social media platforms, or keep up to date with those you follow who create content each day. Resist these urges, and within a couple of hours, you’ll find a sense of freedom.

This day is a great time to spend time with your family or friends, to cook yourself a few nice meals, to journal or read, or simply do nothing at all. It may end up being one of the best days of your week.

By doing this regularly, you can also be much more mindful the next day when you pick up your phone once again. Hopefully, throughout the week, you’ll notice what moments lead you to pick up your phone the most, and you can pause before making a conscious choice to use or not use your phone.

As 2020 approaches, making a goal to be more disconnected from the internet, social media, and your devices, and more connected to yourself, your loved ones, and your passions is a sure way to find more fulfillment and joy in the coming year.

Looking for a whole weekend of disconnection to get your New Year off to a great start? Book a Getaway today.

Disconnection is something that should become a habit for each of us. It can seem impossible when important emails are constantly coming into your inbox, or when your schedule is packed with events and meetings, but any time you can make for yourself will make a world of difference. It’s all about making the time by making intentional choices about how you want to spend the time that you do have. Here’s Day 3 of our 12 Days of Disconnection.

Swap Screens for Books

For many people, turning on the TV once they return home from work has become a habit to help them recharge from the day. It turns out though, that this habit is one that many people would rather shake, as it distracts them from using their time with more intention.

One great habit to switch watching TV out for is reading. While both activities let you fall into stories, learn something new, and relax, reading has distinct cognitive benefits. Reading can strengthen your focus and attention, reduce stress, improve your memory, and expand your vocabulary. Not to mention, you have an amazing sense of accomplishment after finishing a book, that beats that pesky notification of “are you still watching this?” by a mile.

Depending on the books you choose to read, developing this habit could be one that supports a multitude of other changes you may like to make in your life as well. Although, the best way to approach reading is the way that a child might—for pure enjoyment. By disconnecting from the TV screen, you can reconnect to the child within you that would stay up too late turning page after page to find out what happened next. And by reconnecting to one thing you used to love, you’re bound to reconnect to others as well—and soon you’ll find a renewed sense of vitality, and more motivation to live more mindfully.

Need a new read? Check out our reading lists of great novels, collections, and nonfiction books to find something that may pique your interest. You can also check out How to Getaway: Finding Balance in Our Overworked, Overcrowded, Always-On World written by our founders Jon Staff and Pete Davis.

Here’s to more time unplugged this holiday season.

Unplugging from our technology is an important thing to practice if we’d like to live truly connected and fulfilling lives. For Day 2 of our 12 Days of Disconnection, we tapped into our incredible community for tips on how to unplug. Here’s Rebekah of Organize For Love.

While getting away in the middle of a hectic workweek, school semester, or just while living in the city may seem unrealistic, it may just be the remedy you need to unplug. Getting away can be possible when you plan ahead and incorporate regular breaks in your year. Breaks come in all shapes and sizes; big, small, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Breaks allow you to unplug from the life that you’re always plugged into. I’ll share three simple ways to unplug.

Change Your Environment

If getting away isn’t possible, changing your environment is a great alternative. You can change your environment in small practical ways like; eating your daily lunch at a different location than you usually do, taking a different route home or to work, visiting a friend who lives in another neighborhood, working in a different part of your home, trying a new/different restaurant, going to a social event in a borough you don’t typically visit. You change your environment in big ways like;  driving to a cabin in the woods or taking a plane to another country.

Spend a Weekend Off Social Media

If you can’t change your environment, spend a weekend away from social media. In order to plug into yourself, you must detach yourself from others. Try unplugging from social media Thursday night to Friday morning, but be intentional. Be sure to replace the hours you’d spend on Instagram with another activity. Sometimes, what’s important to us slips away while we scroll for hours thinking about all the things we wish we could do. Without intention, social media can pull you further away from yourself. Hence why it’s so important to unplug so you can return to the things that are important to you. Before you spend a weekend off social media, know why you’re doing it, and what you want to get out of it. Unplugging from social media for a weekend will help you to reconnect with yourself, giving you the (mental, emotional, and physical) space you need to return to you.

Go to Bed Without Your Phone

If unplugging for a weekend (or Thursday night to Monday morning like I suggested) feels too extreme, another simple way to unplug is by going to bed without your phone. This means leaving it out of your bed and out of your bedroom. I’m biased but this has to be the worst bedtime habit that we’ve adapted. When you wake up AND go to sleep tuned into your phone, it’s harder to create boundaries between your life and the world. The idea of unplugging gives you the opportunity to recharge, restore, and reacquaint yourself with yourself. But when you’re always plugged in, where is the time/space to do this? When we lay down as overstimulated as we are with our supercomputers, we rob ourselves of the opportunity for true rest. Remember that? It feels like we’re trying to return to simpler times. And it’s possible with just a few, small tweaks. Try having your phone on the other side of your room for a week, then try to leave it outside of your bedroom for a night or two. Done consistently, you will notice the quality of your sleep improve, and the pace of your morning slow down.

Ready to unplug? Book your Getaway here.