Here's a question for you: How did you spend your day?
Even though a lot of times we seem to be all over the place, there is a proper way to manage and spend our time and energy. This is something I picked up from a KahnDo webinar I joined, which taught me how to best use my resources so I can be more productive and be happy about it.
Let me share with you the best practices I learned and tell you all about my weekend getaway at Tagaytay City!
The Essential Third Space
Dr. Adam Fraser, a thought leader in human performance, defines Third Space as "a technique that allows us to compartmentalize. [It is] A mindfulness and self-awareness method that helps us to decompress in a matter of minutes."
The First Space is where you're currently at or what you're doing now.
The Second Space is where you will be next or what you'll be doing next.
The Third Space is the moment in between those two.
If you want more clarity on this concept, watch how Fraser explains the Third Space in his YouTube video.
The Time and Energy Management webinar I joined taught about the Four Energy Quadrants. When asked to describe what it felt like to be in each one, here's what my colleagues and I came up with:
The 4 Energy Quadrants
One teammate pointed out that if we keep on staying in the Survival Zone, we'll eventually find ourselves in the Burnout Zone. Those are what we want to avoid, but there are times when we cannot help but find ourselves in these two energy zones.
Some people may think that being in the Survival Zone motivates them to perform better, but it does take a lot to pull ourselves out of a high negative energy towards a positive one.
For instance, cramming may push you to finish your work. But it can also leave you exhausted after. If you don't improve your way of working, pretty soon you'll find yourself feeling burnt out.
Ideally, we should move back and forth between the Recovery and Performance Zones. This means giving ourselves enough time to rest and slow down so our energy can sustain our performance mode.
It is possible to be productive but not feel exhausted all the time.
It's also worth recognizing that we don't always have the luxury of time to take it easy and enjoy a long break from what we're doing. So how can we sustain ourselves then?
The key is to practice the Third Space. That is, learn how to compartmentalize your thoughts and emotions in a matter of minutes.
It's really easier said than done. It takes discipline, commitment, and practice to gain enough control over our thoughts and emotions so we can pull ourselves together and be present.
My Third Space: A Weekend Staycation
So what do the energy quadrants and the Third Space have to do with my Tagaytay getaway?
Call it serendipity, but a few days before the webinar, my husband and I booked a weekend staycation with Taal Vista Hotel. It gave me the perfect opportunity to recharge — which is essential to my recovery from a long work week — and to apply what I had just learned.
I consider our weekend trip as a whole Third Space. It allowed me to decompress and prepared me to face a new week of responsibilities.
Thinking back on our spontaneous trip, I've been reminded of four things:
1. Allow Yourself to Slow Down and Rest
I relished the whole weekend away from home because I didn't let myself be occupied by worries and responsibilities.
Chilling in our hotel room's balcony
Though I had some ideas on how I wanted to spend the weekend, the trip wasn't built around an itinerary. In fact, out of all the activities I loosely planned to do, I ended up accomplishing only two.
But I very much enjoyed these two activities — watching the Friends reunion and playing badminton with my husband for two afternoons! We actually spent most of our time hanging out in our hotel room because it was just so comfortable.
So, allowing myself to slow down and rest helped me recover well and prepare myself better for the post-staycation daily life.
2. Spend Quality Time with The People You Love
Before our Tagaytay trip, hubs and I told each other that the weekend was about us. And we made it just that!
We drove around the area where we stayed, walked along the hotel grounds, and watched people from a safe distance while having ice cream. We even got locked out of our room by accident 😂 (Thankfully, the hotel staff were prompt and helpful).
I think it's important to spend quality time with our loved ones outside of our typical environment, like our home. That way, we get to engage them in conversation and fun activities without the usual hindrances, such as work and chores.
Lunch out at RSM Tagaytay
Yes, we did spend some time occupying ourselves with other things like our mobile phones and the shows we watched. But we were present for each other, engaged in the moment. That's why our weekend trip became a memorable one for both of us.
3. Do What Energizes You and Gives You Joy
Traveling to a new place makes me feel alive, even though it can get tiring. I enjoyed our long drives and discovering new roads (thankfully without getting lost).
I also had so much fun watching the Friends reunion. It made me laugh, cry, and clap. I felt so much love for the whole cast and show the whole time I was watching it. My husband wasn't as happy though, because I watched Friends while he was sleeping beside me. 😂
Our badminton games were something else! They were fun and satisfying afternoon workouts, and we enjoyed the serenity of the nearly-empty hotel wing.
The serene (eerie?) Mountain Wing
Another activity I savored was dining. The meals we had were great! We tried Mushroomburger for the first time and ate at LieSil's, a restaurant recommended by my mom. We also took home our favorite Tagaytay goodies: sylvanas, bibingka, and buco tart.
LieSil's Restaurant
Unexpectedly, I had a lot of fun spending time in our hotel room. I normally like being outdoors when I'm traveling, but because we're quite familiar with the area and we did just want to relax, we were very much content staying in our cold hotel room.
It was the perfect size, too! We booked a Premier Queen room in the Lake Wing. It has two queen-sized beds, a balcony, a clean bathroom area, and standard hotel room amenities.
Taal Vista Hotel's Premier Queen Room 466
4. Recovery Can Sometimes Cost You
There are lots of creative ways how you can relish in your Third Space and relax without spending anything. But sometimes, it can cost you too — like the weekend trip we booked.
By all means, do what you must so you can bounce back to your Performance Zone. I'm all for treating myself with the good things of life, too (and maybe splurging a little).
But don't give yourself something to worry about later by spending beyond what you're capable of managing.
TL;DR: The key to stay in your performance zone is to practice the Third Space technique. Give yourself time to slow down and rest. Spend time with loved ones and doing what you love.
Will you try out the Third Space technique? How would you spend your ideal down time?
I'd love to know your thoughts! Drop me a line and let's chat.
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