Help me plan my secret day off tomorrow.

I bloody love this idea OP, am going to shamelessly steal this - glad you had a lovely day x

Sounds like a total success!!

Brilliant OP!!!

I'm glad you had a great day. I have though of some more tips to keep you going through the winter if you decide you need another:

Look at the area around you and find out where you can sit and read that's not cafes where you are taking a table or having to spend a lot of money on constant refills. It's not sustainable. Some libraries have reading areas or corners, Shopping malls with massive food courts have less expectation to sit and not spend but are noisy and food smells can be annoying. There are some other seating areas in malls but I also find these are few enough that I worry about taking rest areas away from those who need them. Leisure Centres have viewing areas and often no expectation to pay to use. Noise can be a factor here too.

Consider tourist attractions - how often are you a tourist in your own locality? I love walking tours and open top bus tours (the buses are great for all weathers).

I do spend a great deal of time having to amuse myself as I work away from home for weeks on end, and often in less travelled areas. It is vital to get out of the workplace on my Saturday afternoons, for sanity. I have become a bit of an expert in finding budget friendly places to go, to relax or to destress that is not revolving around eating and drinking alcohol! I love finding a nice spot to knit or read!

This sounds like a lovely day to me.

That sounds amazing. So glad that you managed to have your secret day off. Hats off to you op. 💐💐💐

Mine would try and take the day off to join me. That's the main reason I keep it secret 🤣

For me, I don't tell my husband because I feel like theres then a pressure that I put on myself to be productive. I, like many I'm sure, usually put myself to the bottom of the priorities pile but a secret dsy off is like giving myself permission to rest

@QuaverQuanta this is perfectly summed up. if I told DH I was having a day off he’d think it was a great idea and would make sure everything was taken care of and suggest cooking/going out/take out so I could suck up every bit of relaxation but I would feel that I should have been more productive and got more stuff ticked off the to do list

I’m away lots, mostly for work and they respect that entirely and are very good at not disturbing me.

but if I’m not at work (or occasionally if they consider my work event/trip to be more of a jolly) then I’m generally considered fair game, despite the fact I might be in a different country; they have an entirely capable competent father somewhere in the house; and that two of them are in fact adults!

I try to remind myself that they won’t always want to message me a million times a day and enjoy the contact whilst it lasts. Even if it’s to ask where the sellotape is when I’m 6,000km away in another time zone 🙄

The thing is if I tell my DH I'm off then I suddenly find the day gets filled with 'oh, can you just...drop this at the tip/pick up this from x/pop to the shops/wash the dog bedding...'.

(To be fair I do the same to him if I find he's got a day off and I haven't).

So a day when he leaves for work and assumes I am too and comes back and assumes I've been at work I'm not going to necessarily disabuse him of that.

I hope you have a good day whatever you do OP, it sounds like it’s needed.

I don’t think you’ll feel renewed and refreshed without some life changes though, and that means having time to yourself that your partner is on board with and facilitates regularly, not one day that has to be kept secret. You shouldn’t need to feel like you have to go about it like this.

Oh I used to love a secret day off! I wasn't at the beach, but mine used to be going to a random city in train distance, mooch, nice lunch, galleries and museums. I've booked theatre matinées and gone to the cinema. I got "caught" once when an imax ticket fell out of my bag. DH just laughed.
Hope you have a lovely day and the rest of your year improves massively.

Have a great time op.

Have fun don't forget to come back later and tell us what you did.

Don't make the day too busy! Just bring something to read or listen to and find a nice spot to sit and just be.

And don't feel guilty! I do this too when I know I am heading towards a wall.

Enjoy 😊

If you enjoy charity shops I know Lewes had some nice ones and I seem to think Shoreham had some. If I remember correctly rightly there is a nice stroll along an old railway line at Shoreham by a river.

Personally I'd add an art gallery or good museum. If there's one that's fully or partially outdoors then that's a lovely sunny afternoon activity in my book (for example the Yorkshire Sculpture Park or Barbara Hepworth garden, although I know they're the wrong areas).

Stop fannying around on MN and get out there!!

I love a secret day off. I have one booked for the first day back to school. For me, I don't tell my husband because I feel like theres then a pressure that I put on myself to be productive. I, like many I'm sure, usually put myself to the bottom of the priorities pile but a secret dsy off is like giving myself permission to rest. I usually read, because that's the best way for my brain to switch off. A secret day off every now and again (every few months maybe) makes me a much better mother and wife!

Enjoy your day!

I would just lie on the beach reading, have a mooch around some nice shops if you have any nearby. Sit at a cafe undisturbed. I