I just got back from five days in Costa Blanca. I worked every morning — calls, emails, writing, all of it — then closed the laptop at 14:00 (lunchtime in Spain) and spent every afternoon doing absolutely nothing. Sunning, running, reading, watching the light change on the water.

Being self-employed trains you to always be available, always being on. Rest starts to feel like falling behind. But those afternoons of nothing were not wasted time. They were the point.

This week: the three kinds of summer breaks, what they give you, and how to figure out which one you actually need right now.

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Not all breaks look the same. And not all of them need to be a week offline in Tuscany, or a wellness retreat, or a flight somewhere new.

The type of vacation you need depends entirely on what depleted you. Burnout looks different from boredom. Creative block looks different from physical exhaustion. Needing a change of scenery looks different from needing to completely disappear for a week.

The mistake most people make is defaulting to whatever they can logistically pull off rather than asking what they actually need. You plan the trip that fits the calendar instead of the trip that fits where you are. Then you come back and wonder why you do not feel any better.

Here is how to think about all three — and how to know which one your body is asking for right now.

The one people feel most guilty about. Working from somewhere beautiful, usually with a clear structure: you work specific hours and then you stop. Completely. The location is not the vacation. The afternoons are.

It is the right choice when you cannot fully step away but you need a change of environment. A new view, a different neighborhood to walk through, the way an unfamiliar place makes ordinary things feel interesting again. A workcation works when you draw the line clearly and actually hold it.

Underrated and mostly misunderstood. A staycation that works is not a weekend where you catch up on life admin. It is intentional rest at home with the same protection you would give a trip you paid for.

The mistake is filling it. The version that restores you is the one where you say no to everything and let the days be slow. Cook things that take time. Sleep past your alarm. Do not leave the house if you do not want to. The staycation gives you rest without logistics. That is its entire value.

A trip built around moving your body, sleeping better, eating well, and stepping out of the pace of your normal life. A retreat, a hiking week, somewhere with no agenda except feeling better.

It works because it removes you from the environment that created your patterns. You cannot keep the same habits when everything around you is different. Sometimes that is exactly what it takes.

The honest answer is usually the one that scares you most. Burnt out? You need the full stop, not a workcation. Stuck in a rut but doing okay? A change of environment might be all it takes. Need to feel good in your body again? The wellness week is not indulgent. It is a decision.

In my almost twenty years of working for myself, I’ve learned in the last couple of years that rest is not something you earn. It is something you take. The version of a vacation that actually restores you is the one where you allow yourself to stop. Whatever shape that takes for your life right now.

_{OUR SPONSOR}

My first Kindred was in Copenhagen. My second in Berlin. For Costa Blanca I wanted something else entirely — sea views, genuine quiet, somewhere to open the windows and actually exhale. I chose a home with a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean and it was exactly that.

Here is how it works: Kindred is a curated home exchange network. You list your home, earn credits, and use those credits to stay in beautifully vetted homes anywhere in the world. No nightly fees, only a cleaning fee. No hotels. Real kitchens, real neighborhoods, real homes chosen by people who actually live there.

It is the way I travel now — and the way I will keep traveling.

Sign up through my link or use code val.alv2and you will get 5 credits to use toward your first booking.

_{THE REWIND}

Five things for the week.

📖 Read: Strangers by Bella Burden — after 20 years of marriage, her husband texted her it was over. What she did next is the book everyone is reading right now. The NYT number one bestseller that hits harder than you expect. Take it to the beach and clear your afternoon.

❄️ Cool down: Shark ChillPill 3-in-1 Personal Cooling System — portable fan, cooler, and air purifier in one. The summer essential nobody talks about enough.

☀️ Protect: Nivea Sun Milk SPF 50 — the sunscreen that has been on every beach in Spain for a reason. Lightweight, no white cast, genuinely good.

✨ Glow: Root + Renew Vitamin C serum — what I use every morning, especially after a week in the sun. Brightening, antioxidant protection, layers perfectly under SPF.

🏖️ Bring: Geometry beach towels (geometry.house) — sand-resistant, oversized, and the kind of thing that makes a beach day feel considered.

_{WEEKLY THOUGHT}

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Costa Blanca did not give me a cleared inbox or a perfect tan. It gave me five afternoons of doing nothing and being bored. Which is apparently what I needed more than anything.

Take the trip. Take the afternoon. Take the break.

See you Wednesday!

Valerie