Andrea Doven is a dedicated wife, mother and HR executive. In this article she talks about the benefits of a stay-cation!

1. Some people dream about vacations from their desks… vaca-
tions that include white sand beaches and fancy hotels. What I
am about to share with all you mothers out there is how to have
the best, most inexpensive vacation possible … send your hus-
band/significant other and children away and indulge yourself
in a STAYCATION!
Execumom tips:
The Stay-cation!
by Andrea Doven

2. Hello again from Execu-Mom!
You have heard a lot lately from Andrea Doven the “Executive” giving you all my hot
tips and successful actions hiring personnel.
Now I want to give you some “Execu-Mom” advice!
Some people dream about vacations from their desks… vacations that include
white sand beaches and fancy hotels. What I am about to share with all you moth-
ers out there is how to have the best, most inexpensive vacation possible … send
your husband/significant other and children away and indulge yourself in a STAY-
CATION!
As most of you know a working mother has two full time jobs. When the workday
ends, your next job begins. I wouldn’t trade my 11 years raising my son and work-
ing a full time job with anything. I have loved working hard at work and at home, no
complaints! Day-to-day managing and coordinating every aspect of a household is
in itself a full time job when done right! Needless to say, your time is not entirely
your own, and for the most part you are servicing others.
Last Christmas my husband had to work on the East Coast for 10 days and we
decided it would be fun for our son to join him. I decided to stay home and they
were gone for 10 days.
Sounds callous to say “send your family away” and probably sounds crazy over the
holidays. I was very worried about being lonely and sad in my empty nest.
But it was the best decision.
I ended up doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to, at every given moment
of those 10 days… I am going to repeat that because it’s important that you get
this… I did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to, at every single given moment.

3. • I woke up when my body wanted to – never to an alarm.
• I decided in the moment whom I wanted to call and hang with and what I
wanted to do.
• I did projects around the house that I cannot do with family around.
• I saw any movie I wanted to see at any time of day.
• I cleared out my son’s closet. I can’t easily do that when he’s around – he
gets pretty attached to his stuff. I went through his games, toys, equipment, nick-
knacks, and donated a lot of it that he never even missed when he returned.
• I walked around my entire house doing the same, putting more and more
order in.
• I handled all the backlogged emails I have had sitting unhandled.
• I strolled around my favorite little town (Pacific Palisades) and shopped, ate,
and drank excellent coffee all by myself… bliss!
• I went to museums.
• Read for hours in the afternoon and … I napped!
• I exercised when I felt like it.
• I went on long walks and caught up on the phone with friends/family I hadn’t
spoken to in a while.
I could really go on and on here…
I plan to do this yearly (or maybe every other). I did this at the beginning of the
new year and I felt caught up, organized, well rested, lighter and ready to make
S*#!% happen… and I did. New opportunities came my way and I have been far
more productive… from a clean slate! The staycation pulled me out of the minutia
of my day-to-day grind to a more objective vantage point.
Since this was such a successful action for me, I wanted to share it with any of
you in similar shoes as mine. So to all you busy working moms out there, look at
your calendar and figure out when your family can go away and leave you at home
to rejuvenate!

4. Andrea Doven is a dedicated Executive and mother.
To this day she is called upon by professionals in
a variety of industries to help them hire and place
qualified employees in their organizations.