Not a Typical Getaway… 8 Things We Accomplish on Our Quarterly Review Getaways

A few years ago, my husband and I started a tradition of going away every three months for 3 nights and 4 days. This is what we call our Quarterly Review GETAWAY. These getaways are not what most people would think of a Getaway.

We work. We plan. We journal. We discuss. We think. We read. We spend time together. It’s a time to grow as a person and couple, and evaluate our lives from the last three months. A time to grow in our marriage. A time to meditate on the Lord. A time to be intentional.

I created a list of things we accomplish and what a Getaway typically looks like for us:

Journal in my children’s journals

For me, this is something I don’t make time for on a regular basis while at home. During each Quarterly Review, I write a prayer or a letter to each of my children. I have a specific notebook for each child. Gradually over time each child will have a notebook filled with letters and prayers written to them from their mom. These Getaways help in being intentional with this, making sure it happens. If this was something I didn’t pursue at our Getaways, I would not have much written for my children.

Organize all my pictures on the computer that were taken in the last few months

During the Getaway, I make time to organize all the pictures that were taken the last 3 months. I have specific folders for each month of the year- creating folders for special events in each month. I do a yearbook for our family every year. So, I will also take the time to pick out specific pictures I want to put into that photobook. When I eventually create the book, I already have my folder of pictures I want to use. I then don’t have to go back through all my pictures from the whole year to create the photobook (which I create online).

Review our yearly calendar

Yes, my husband and I plan our whole year out! We sit down together and go through each month. We mark down things that have happened consistently over the last few years (reviewing last years calendars), birthdays, and annual/seasonal events. Obviously changes are made here and there as the time comes. However, it benefits us both when we have an idea of how our spring, summer, and fall (hunting!) will be. We are less stressed and not as busy because of planning ahead.

Revise our personal finances and budget

My husband and I track EVERYTHING we spend and stick to a tight budget. If we wouldn’t take the time to evaluate our personal finances every quarter, or even once a year, money would slip through our hands easily without even knowing it.  We all need to recognize how our money is being spent. How much do you spend going out to eat each month? How much do you spend on groceries? If you have no idea, I challenge you to start writing it down; this will give yourself a realistic idea of how much you do spend in those categories each month.

Create a plan to make sure you’re not overspending without realizing it. Be good stewards of the money that’s placed into your hands. Set financial goals for 1, 3, 5, 10, 30 years from now. Make a plan on how you’re going to budget, save, tithe, and invest to reach those goals.

Get rest

Being away for several days with no children is a great opportunity to get some extra sleep and rest. During these Getaways we like to stay up late, watch movies, sleep in, and then most times take naps in the afternoon

Review personal goals

We look back at the goals we’ve set for ourselves since our last Getaway. Did we accomplish all of those short term goals we set? How are we progressing to accomplish those long term goals?

I use the One Year Powersheets Intentional Goal Planner from Cultivate What Matters.

Review where you’re at with life right now and revise those goals. Create new goals for the upcoming months. Make any adjustments for the coming years. Change any that seem unrealistic or impossible to accomplish in that time frame.

Ideas for goals:

• Major purchases you want to make in the future
• Any areas you want to grow in as a person (mothering, business, being a better wife, etc.)
• Physical things you’d like to accomplish (taking a class, running a race, places you’d like to visit or travel to)
• Things you’d like to accomplish with your children or have them trained to do or become
• Health changes in your life

This is the document I use to write out and update my goals each quarterly Getaway. Feel free to print this out for yourself.

READ

As Jim Rohn says, “Read, Read, Read. Dig, Dig, Dig”. The more you read, the more chances of you finding gold- incredible wisdom that you can take and apply to your life. Take this time with no children around to catch up on some reading. The books we read are books that give wisdom or knowledge in an area we want to grow in – spiritual, mothering, blogging, real estate, investing, fathering, marriage, etc. “You become what you think about,” quoted by Earl Nightingale.

Spend quality time with the husband

In the midst of trying to get things done, we do make time for each other. For me, like most moms, my mind is more free when I don’t have the children around. So I’m able to focus more of my time and energy on my husband.

Go out to eat. Stay up late and watch a movie together. Go on walks together (or runs). Tour the area or town you are in for your Getaway. This is just you two together, so you can do whatever you want (on top of all the intentional things you are accomplishing).

These Getaways are a priority in our lives. We do have amazing moms and babysitters that watch our children the whole time we are away. They help us to make this possible on a quarterly basis. This is four times a year we get away with no children… 16 out of 365 days out of the year. Doesn’t sound like much, right? Well, go ahead and give it a try. The time goes by very quickly and three months later you realize that the time has already come for another Quarterly Review.

You could start out with once a year and increase over the years. Most of you probably go away once a year for your anniversary. Make another date on the calendar for this non-typical Getaway. This would be a time of being intentional and purposeful. A time of reevaluating your lives. A time of setting new goals. A time of asking each other questions. A time with each other and with the Lord. A time to think and process things. You don’t need to accomplish everything I listed above for your Getaway. Pick just one or two intentional things to start out with. Create your own things you would want to accomplish. Pursue what is most important to you and your husband. Make your Getaways unique in your own way.

My challenge to you is to do an annual getaway consistently for several years. Then over time add another Getaway in the year, doing it twice a year. Eventually make it up to three, then four times a year. You will not regret these times together planning, thinking and journaling with absolutely NO distractions! People might think you’re crazy, but let’s rise up and show our culture that our marriage really is our top priority. The more you communicate, plan and be together, just the two of you… the more your marriage will thrive!

Can you think of anything you specifically would like to accomplish on this non-typical Getaway?

If you’d like to know how we plan one out and how to make these possible, read this –}How to Logistically Plan for a Quarterly Review Getaway.