A Summary of My Month Living in Mexico (FF-014)
- Sarah Tetlow
- Aug 6
- 4 min read
Originally Published: July 8, 2024
Revised: August 7, 2025
On June 10, 2024, my family and I took off for Puerto Vallarta to live there for a month. We leave to head back to the United States in two days. I had every intention of writing this newsletter in the middle of the trip, and candidly, I never could make it a priority. Which, as your productivity expert friend, I would tell you is A-OK!
My priority while living here in Mexico was only to do the work that must get done and otherwise enjoy the experience.
And so that is what I did.
The Small Moments
Spending a month "living" in Puerto Vallarta has been incredible. There were many situations where I thought, "How can I turn this into a productivity hack?" That led to three small teachable moments that I have captured below.
The Beauty of Stopping
Too often, getting caught up in the rush from one task to the next is easy. Time management isn't just about efficiency; it is also about recognizing when to slow down and be present.
While walking around Vallarta, we would sometimes stop to check out a shop, watch a local make tortillas, or let the kids walk on top of a wall. Inevitably, I would find myself telling the kids, "Ok, let's go," ready to move on to the next thing.
Then one day, I paused and considered:
Where were we rushing off to?
Most of the time, we didn't have anywhere we needed to be. Instead of "Let's go," I started to practice the beauty of stopping. I took a breath and absorbed the sights, smells, and experiences around us.
The Takeaway
Sometimes, time management is about slowing time down and soaking up the beauty all around us. Find more opportunities to slow down. In fact, take a moment today to STOP and be present. Take a breath. How do you feel?
Applying Parkinson's Law
Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a British historian and writer, introduced his theory, Parkinson's Law, in an essay for "The Economist" in 1955. In this essay, Parkinson describes a woman who needed to mail a postcard. A task that would take a busy person three minutes took her all day because she had all day to get it done. Parkinson's Law states that "work expands or shrinks to fill the time available for its completion."
Spending the summer in Mexico was a great reminder that, at times, we invite procrastination to avoid doing something, thereby allowing a task to take much longer than it would otherwise need to.
At home, I typically work a 38 - 42 hour workweek with a fairly structured schedule—and honestly, I like it that way.
While in Mexico, I wanted to work an adjusted schedule to enjoy more free time at the pool, exploring, and hanging with my kids. My goal was to work fewer hours, but I still had a similar amount of work to get done. Therefore, I applied Parkinson's Law to my workday. When I needed to get five things done, I prioritized those five things and laser-focused on them so that I could finish by 1:00 or 2:00 p.m.
The Takeaway.
Create a stop time for your day. Even if you have nowhere you need to be at a specific time, scheduling an end time will help you get more done and be more productive. What time will you be finishing up today?
If you're interested in the original article in "The Economist," you can check it out here.
Manage the Distractions
Honestly, I was trying to figure out a creative way to share the beautiful photo below. I thought of various things about "weathering the storm," but nothing quite fit.
This was the view from my desk while in Mexico. While I wasn't working during this incredible tropical storm, I spent plenty of other times working while staring out this window.
There were moments when I would glance up, see my kids at the pool (with my husband or my mom), and experience FOMO. I would get distracted for a few minutes. And then I would remember Parkinson's Law and remind myself to focus, prioritize, and stay on track so I could join them in the afternoon.
Our distractions are rarely in the form of a gorgeous view, but they do show up in unique and challenging ways.
What distracts you the most, and what can you do to mitigate it?
The Takeaway.
Identify what your biggest distractions are—email, pets, games, certain websites, or other media outlets. Ask yourself what, if anything, you can do to control or mitigate those distractions. Pick one or two and start with small behavioral changes.
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