Our family often goes to what was once my grandparents’ farm for weekends and holidays. It’s on an island in Rhode Island and a short drive from the beach.  It’s a great place to go in the summer (except for the traffic).

And when we get there, my mom reminds us, “We’re on Island Time.”

What that means for us is that we don’t have a set schedule.  We go where we want depending on how we feel and what the weather is doing at the time.  No time clock.  A different headspace.

I’ve been on a very different pace this past week too.  I traveled to California to visit a friend.  She’s been there taking care of her new granddaughter and had a week off.  So out I went.  And even though this isn’t an island, we’ve been on island time ever since I got here.

Hiking, walking through gardens, day trips.  Whatever.  Winging it as we went, with only a very loose schedule.  A garden party one night.  A farm-to-table dinner another.  And the rest of the day to do as much or as little as we wanted.  We had an absolute blast.

(c) Kathleen Thompson Monterrey Pier

I so needed this.  I especially needed to give myself permission to do it.  To understand and embody the fact that this type of time is as important as schedules and productivity.

Want to go to Monterrey and Carmel?  Sure.  Find a hotel at the last minute.  Take the scenic route. Get a ticket to the Monterrey Aquarium that can span two days so we can spend the last hour before they close and then come back the next morning.  Start on the 17-mile drive, and then realize it’s closed, so take a different route to see the sunset.  And what a sunset!

(c) Kathleen Thompson Sunset at Pacific Grove

We tried to have lunch in Carmel, and couldn’t find a parking spot.  We ended up at a locally-owned taco shop.  We were the only non-locals in the place.  The food was delicious.  We would have missed a treat had we eaten where we planned.  (Though I’m sure that place would have been great too.)

Changes?  Don’t matter. Can’t do exactly what we wanted?  It doesn’t matter.  It’s all part of the adventure.  It’s all part of being on island time.

It’s funny, isn’t it?  I could be on island time at my own house on the weekend, or on a weekday evening, if I chose.  And yet I get so in the groove of scheduling my life that I simply forget it’s possible.  It takes going away to remind me that island time is possible.  And desirable.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to get crabby after a while when I schedule myself too tightly.  I need a little island time in my life.  And I don’t want to wait until I actually get to an island to do it.

Giving ourselves permission to have not only downtime, but unstructured downtime is so healthy.  It restores our energy.  Our appreciation for life.  It also helps us be more flexible when things don’t go the way we expected.   Learn to “Hang loose,” as they say in Hawaii.

I had such fun living on island time that I’m going to build it into my life.  Not wait until I can go to our island in Rhode Island.  Or a tropical paradise.

You want to get in some island time this week?  I know this sounds strange, but why not block it on your calendar today? That way you might actually do it.  Imagine how you could get yourself into the “island time” frame of mind.  Slowly sip tea or coffee.  Read the entire newspaper.  Take a leisurely walk, instead of going as quickly as possible.  Something to slow your pace.  And even if that’s all the time you get, it’s better than no island time at all.

What might you do with your island time?  Leave a comment.