So I took 10 days away.

Now, I was only on “real” vacation for four days. Punta Cana, DR. It was glorious.

I spent the remaining days on a staycation, per a promise to myself.

The entire 10 days, I refrained from a handful of things I probably definitely overdo — Instagram, email, Twitter, stats.

I set myself up well — no emergencies.

But a few things surprised me.

Expectation vs Reality

I expected to have strong urges to check email. In reality, I wasn’t once tempted to check. The more days went by, the less I was interested in diving into my inbox.

I expected it to take a full day to deal with email once I finally did check. In reality, it took less than an hour.

I expected my inbox to immediately, completely consume me again. In reality, it hasn’t at all.

I expected to enjoy checking Instagram after ten days away. In reality, I scanned through in five seconds and almost puked. Zero enjoyment.

I expected to have less interest in checking stats as the days went by; strong urges early on that would wane. In reality, the opposite happened. The last couple days of my staycation featured several STRONG urges to look at stats. It wasn’t for fear of any issues. It was probably more akin to a smoker’s urge after eight days of going cold turkey.

I expected ten days away to be boring and hardly as relaxing as I had hoped. In reality, I can’t recall the last time I felt so clear-minded, calm, and at peace with my business and life.

Ten days away.

Try it.