I'm in Mui Ne, Vietnam for just one night. It's amazing here, really, it's paradise.
Before this short trip here, I never understood why people do a weekend getaway or leave the city they live for just one night. I always wondered - what's the point? I thought, "If you're going to travel, why not spend long enough to get the flavor of the place you're going? What's the point of going for one night?"
I didn't understand back then. I understand now.
When you're very attentive and taking great care of your time, two days/one night can be a lot of relaxation and rejuvenation. I did two hours of work yesterday in the morning before coming to Mui Ne, and an hour at the end of the day. I slept on the five hour bus ride here, I took a short nap while here, and I'll sleep on the bus ride back - so I'm basically getting 21 hours awake here.
Do you realize how long 21 hours can be when you pay attention to your time, nurse it, nourish it, and spend it well? Sitting by the water, swimming in the ocean and pool, having Vietnamese coffee, drinking coconut milk out of a coconut... ah, I feel like I've done so much living while here, much more than 20 hours of living.
I usually work seven days a week, maybe 5 to 10 hours per day. To relax, I exercise, learn, and connect with people I respect. All told, I'm probably putting 80 to 100 hours into what most people would consider productive and focused time.
I'm trying to take just a day or two off every two weeks, and I'm seeing my work improve and go faster. I rejuvenate, relax, heal, I'm filled with good ideas when doing this. When I didn't respect my own time very much, spending one night in a place seemed crazy. Why bother? Now that I'm taking care of and respecting my time, one night in a place is quite a lot. I feel strong and healthy and alive. I'm going to have a light breakfast in an hour, go swimming at sunrise, lift some weights, and then have a have a really big meal. I'm working now, and my work is flowing and I'm in a really fantastic zone where things just flow. This one night getaway thing is starting to make sense to me.
When's the last time you got out of your city for a day? Why not get out for a day sometime in the next week?