How to relax on a staycation: 9 ways to take a break near home

Relaxation sounds simple, but when it comes down to it, it can feel like an Olympic sport. So, let’s practice reframing. A staycation isn’t the moment to reorganize your closet or finally clean your refrigerator — it’s a permission slip to pause and to stop performing, achieving, or even trying for a hot second. 

Save that closet for a regular Sunday off. Here are some ways to allow yourself space to have some actual downtime.

1. Create (and fiercely protect) your chill zone

Pick a space in your home—it could be your bedroom, the backyard, or the balcony—and claim it as your official sanctuary and make it your own. It can be as clean as you want, it can have fluffy blankets, there can be candles or incense and a bowl full of chocolate. The goal here is to make this space easy for your body to settle when you enter.

If you live with other people, like a partner or a roommate, let them know about your safe zone and set the boundary with them of when that door is closed to please leave you alone (here are six tips to help).

💙 Get comfortable setting kind and clear limits with help from the Daily Calm’s session on Boundaries.  

2. Slow down (on purpose)

You know those moments when you sit down to relax and suddenly you’re bouncing between checking social media, half-reading emails, and mentally meal-planning for the week? Try actively working on slowing your pace in everything you do. Move slower. Talk slower. Eat slower. 

Try setting a timer for 20 minutes and just sit and relax. Maybe sip something warm, but let your mind wander without judgment. Maybe you read a book. If you’re on your phone, make sure it’s intentional time, like listening to a podcast and not just scrolling. It might feel weird at first, but stick with it. Your nervous system is learning how to come down off high alert, and that’s important.

3. Schedule one small sensory joy per hour

While this isn’t about cramming your day full of fun, it is about creating little checkpoints of delight to interrupt the autopilot. Think of it as tiny doses of being present and focusing on joy.

Here’s what that could look like:

• 9am: Stretch in bed with the window open and feel the morning air

• 10am: Eat toast with butter and that farmer’s market jam and put on a nostalgic playlist

• 11am: Ten-minute hand massage with the lotion you forgot you loved

• 12pm: Sunbathe either outside, on your balcony, or in a sunny spot on your floor like a cat

• 1pm: Eat lunch somewhere that’s not at your desk

Read more: How to find happiness: 9 simple and helpful tips

4. Do one small thing that signals “This is not just a normal day”

This tip is all about setting the tone. When every day feels the same, life can get to feeling a bit boring, and your brain could use a cue that this day is different. 

Do something that’s just a little outside your norm:

• Make pancakes for dinner

• Wear your robe all day

• Hang twinkle lights or move furniture around to enhance your space and create a new vibe

• Use your fancy wine glasses for sparkling water 

• Watch a movie at 10am, because you want to

These micro-rebellions against routine send a powerful message that you’re allowed to rest and enjoy your life, even if it doesn’t look productive or like a typical day.