Chasing a Swell ...
That's what I did in June. I had just returned from an 18-day trip to Hawaii, surfing daily (surprise). On my return, each morning, I sit at my computer and check the surf report for Oahu. As the days went by, I began seeing a report of a large swell that might head for Oahu. I did some research and it looked like this long term forecast might actually hit the area I spend surfing daily.
I had a business trip planned for the week to Irvine, California- a trip where I'd be sitting in a conference room with no windows. My thought: what if I just switched trips and went to Hawaii and chased this swell instead?
A pipe dream, right? But it was a dream of mine to chase a swell one day. I told my husband of my thoughts. "Hmmm," he said, "windowless conference room in Irvine ... big swell off Diamond Head ..."
I waited until the last minute to make sure the surf report didn't dramatically change, and three days later was on my flight to Hawaii. The swell did hit -not as large as initially predicted, but large enough. I spent five days surfing some sizeable waves.
I even had a chance to go out to dinner with some of my gal friends on Oahu for a yummy dining experience at a fine Italian restaurant.
Less than a full week, but it was worth the trip.
Before booking this trip, I asked my husband one last time, "Seriously, you think it's okay for me to switch trips?" His response, "I know you'll be reasonable."
TODAY'S HOW TO
I know it sounds unreasonable, and even dreamlike - to just change plans and book a last minute trip to Hawaii just to go surfing. My life is full of responsibilities, just like everyone else. But I have managed to develop a few habits that helped in this situation. I plan my work life reasonably well -- actually very well. I get to tasks as soon as possible. I have a sign on the wall of my office which says, "What Can I Do Today to Move This Case Forward?" Through a lot of practice, I developed this habit, instead of the inclination that we all have to look at our various work projects and to-do lists and figure out what we can put off doing. This inclination usually ends up with EVERY day having to do things that now HAVE to be done. This also means that we have to put off other things which could have been done to "move another project forward."
This also means NEVER having the flexibility to chase the big swell when it comes up.
