The San Fran / Napa Trip That Gave Me Some Creative Clarity

I've always dreamed of going to Napa Valley, waking up early in the morning to a beautiful sunrise over the vineyard, sipping my coffee, and writing my book.

For the record, I've never really thought about writing a book but for some reason, I've always thought that the words would just come to me if I booked a place in Napa. And I'm not going to lie to you, words came to me but in a different way.

I disconnected and I feel so much more free.

I have been really proud of myself this year in regards to my productivity-to-overwhelm ratio and this trip was a great challenge.

The goal for the past few years was to be able to balance all of my side hustles well enough that I could say "I am on vacation" and I DON'T NEED to check my phone and work. While I did record some videos for BELLWELL, that was manageable and only took 30 minutes. Teddy had to do emails anyway so it worked out.

Other than that I pretty much succeeded. I barely looked at my phone (unless to post to Instagram obvi) and I didn't do any client work. Old me had set boundaries and I am really happy with her. Here are just some of the takeaways.

🔸Rest: I got incredible sleep A. because the beds were amazing and B. because I wasn't worried, distracted, or stressed about any immediate problem.

🔸Disconnected: I disconnected and it was great. This one goes back to setting boundaries. I was able to connect because I set such strong work boundaries prior -- that's hard in a freelance/artist lifestyle.

🔸Mindful Movement: I knew I wasn't going to have access to kettlebells or a gym for most of the trip so I took advantage of nature and any opportunity to move, walk and explore.

🔸Present: I was so present with everyone I was with. Sure, I had the random urges to check my phone out of habit for the most part I tried to set it and forget it and live old-school style ;)

My biggest takeaway was that as soon as I got on the plane I started writing and working in the most creative productive way possible and I am thankful.