How do you recover from a long stint/season in the field?
Ask a Biologist Monday 9/26/22
Answers from Biologists:
Clean my car because every season it ends up holding all my equipment/belongings/junk.
Reading (mysteries, urban fantasy), baking, cooking, YouTube cooking shows, Instagram.
Get a haircut, or put on some nice makeup or nice clothes. Anything to feel less like a gremlin!
If I can, I alter my schedule briefly to allow time to sleep in and have a nice coffee.
A Big Mac, a long shower, and cuddles with my pup.
Sleep, snuggle pets, watch lots of tv.
Watch tv and relax. Go outside for myself, good reminder to see how beautiful it is when I can sit down.
Meeting up with friends and family I don’t get to see while working.
Playing Stardew Valley on my Switch and snuggling my dog. And eating of course!
Dress nice for a change and treat myself to a nice dinner/concert/shopping spree.
Gardening and spending time with my furred and feathered kids re-centers me.
Sleeeeeeep!
Take time off. Spend time with family and friends. Nap a lot.
Long showers, the Deep in the Heart of Texas doc. reading Grassland by Dick Manning.
Get a pedicure because my feet are in brutal shape.
Save money to get my car cleaned by someone, then self care rituals and reaching out to friends/family.
I work year round so daily self care is big for me (hot baths, skincare, weekly gear cleaning).
Stay on my couch and bed as much as possible, also wearing comfy clothes and pjs.
Catch up on my hobbies (which still involve being in nature).
Promise myself to never do it again, veg for 4 months, rinse and repeat.
Most of mine are late night so I enjoy a bowl of cereal before bed.
Disconnect from technology so no one can reach me for a bit (go camping).
Take a long solo road trip on the way home then spend time with family/friends.
Enjoy a nice long sleep without worrying about 3am alarms.
Spend time with loved ones, binge watch TV, or just chill.
Spend all my time with my dog.
Spend time with loved ones and splurge on a massage or other spa services.
Theragun and a cold beer.
Deep clean my field gear-clean backpacks, oiled leather boots, so satisfying!
Big huge salads, buying new gear, and taking a long bubble bath.
Icecream!
Baths, snacks, crafts, TV and video games.
Lots of naps.
Video games or Netflix when I need time inside. Photographing animals otherwise.
Spending some time alone at home in my space to reset, then lots of friends and family.
Sleep, stretching, and all the food.
Take your vacation time! It’s there for a reason. No sense in letting it build up until you are forced to take it.
Resting indoors a lot, but also going outside to do only fun things that I love, so outside isn’t only work.
Being inside can be so nice after a long field day/season. Also candy.
Ice cream.
A roadtrip.
Bathe in moisturizer and eat all of the home-cooked vegetables.
Deep clean my car and closet to reset. It helps to have friends to body double to get it done.
