How unplugging and getting back to nature can help you achieve your goals 🍁

It’s been a busy year for me. Pivoting in my business, moving out of my house and putting my things in storage (after a massive Marie Kondo-style clear-out), planning all my travels and then going travelling… it’s been go go go.

"Yes, but you’ve been travelling… you’ve basically been on one long holiday,” people tell me.

Well, that’s not quite true. When you’re a digital nomad, you take your laptop with you wherever you go, and most days, you’re working. Sometimes it’s evenings and weekends, sometimes it’s when you can grab an hour here or thirty minutes there while waiting for a train or a plane.

Even this summer, when I’ve been going around the country and meeting up with friends I haven’t seen in a while, I’ve taken my laptop with me and kept up with emails and other admin things most days.

So yes, I’ve been travelling, but it hasn’t exactly been a holiday.

Which is why this past week, when I went to stay in an Airbnb in Wales for a few days with two of my best friends, I didn’t take my laptop with me (OK, so I checked my work emails on my phone, but that’s all I did – I promise).

The Airbnb was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields of sheep, and we had glorious weather the whole time – a perfect opportunity to unplug, unwind, and recharge.

I always feel a little off when I’m not working for a few days – I feel slightly guilty, and like I should be using my time productively and getting things done – but this time, I really tried to let it go and just relax. I sure needed it.

💙 Every morning, I got up early(ish) and sat outside, in front of the incredible views of the lush green rolling hills, drinking a cup of tea and reading a book. (If you’re interested, I read The Mitford Murders, A Cotswold Killing, and Wild during my week away – another kind of break from the business and self-development books I mostly read these days).

💙 My friends and I read, talked, cooked together, and ate together. We stoked up the wood-fired hot tub and waited for the sun to set before sitting in it under the outside twinkling lights, looking out over the valley as a nearby farmer worked in his field and the sheep got herded from one area to another.

💙 We made s’mores and drank wine as we watched the incredibly bright supermoon make its way across the darkening sky. We walked around the area, spotting hares, woodpeckers, cows, butterflies, swifts, and yet more sheep.

💙 We went to the beach and paddled in the sea, trying and failing to skim stones on the surface of the water. We collected pebbles and shells, and I found a stone in the shape of a magic wand that could be used to draw on the smooth round rocks.

💙 I started writing affirmations on the pebbles, and things I wanted out of life, and I threw them into the Irish Sea like I was making a wish for the future. My friends saw what I was doing and started writing their own affirmations.

💙 At midnight we lay out on the lawn, snuggled under blankets, with our hot chocolate and our hot water bottles, and we tried to make out the constellations twinkling above us. We saw three shooting stars and we each made silent wishes.

(We also watched some Netflix, but hey, I find that relaxing too.)

And – apart from the Airbnb and the food/wine – none of it cost a thing.

My friend Vicki and I also had what I call a ‘magical movie moment’ as I was driving us through the Welsh countryside:

We’d been getting constantly stuck behind tractors – as usually happens in the country – and at one point we got stuck behind one pulling a huge load of hay bales.

We happened to be listening to The Chicks, singing along to their country classic, ‘Wide Open Spaces’, and passing several horses on the side of the road, pegged out by a community of travellers passing through, when a huge gust of wind upset the hay bales and thousands of tiny pieces of hay showered down around us, hitting the windscreen of the car and floating in through our open windows – like we were in some kind of giant country snow globe (or hay globe).

The sun was shining, the music was blaring, we’d been having a great time singing along and watching the beautiful horses, and now we were surrounded by a flurry of freshly harvested hay that danced around us as we drove through the stunning Welsh countryside… it truly was a magical movie moment.

And you know what? I felt SO relaxed and recharged after my (mainly) unplugged week off, that as soon as I was alone, I had all these ideas come rushing through – ideas for my business, for what I should do next – as well as a new-found excitement for getting back to work.

I’d been flagging before my week away, and now I couldn’t wait to get back to it.

In fact, that very afternoon I made a big decision about my business, doing something I’d been putting off for a long time. I had more clarity about what I wanted to be doing and the direction I was going in, and I went and invested in myself – more news on that in the coming weeks!

Basically, we all need time to unplug, and to rest and recharge – and if we can do it in nature, surrounded by greenery and wildlife, all the better. You never know what insights and revelations it could lead to.

That’s it for now – until next time, I’ll catch you on the flip side!

Jess xx