Are you working non-stop, skipping through lunches, barely taking time out for a moment to breathe? If so you’re just like millions of others out there, head to the grindstone, go go go. Did you enjoy summer at all? If you are not careful you’re going to burn out. Nobody wants it to happen but it does and usually when you least expect it.
You are super focused, determined to complete your tasks, make your career, learn that skill, and reach the top. You have excellent productive routines and habits in place. You’re working your butt off to achieve your dreams and goals, or handle the normal day-to-day tasks. The only thing is, you may have forgotten something, or worse you’re waiting for the perfect time when you don’t have so much to do. What is that, it’s allowing yourself to relax, and catch your breath. You think to yourself, right now is not the right time, I’ll wait for a better time. The only problem with waiting for the right moment for taking time out for yourself is that there will always be stuff to do. That’s just how life is. So you need to decide for yourself, think about your health, it’s not good for you to keep going non-stop day in and day out. You need rest, everyone does.
Taking time out to rest or relax is vital to both your mental and physical wellness. If you do not pause from time to time, you run the risk of serious burnout. It does not matter whether the hard work your doing is because you want to be perfectly physically fit. Or if it’s working, studying, or learning, so you can be at the top of your game mentally. Burnout can happen, and when it does, you end up with a major setback. So major that some people do not recover from it. So don’t let this happen to you, taking time out for yourself doesn’t mean you’re giving up, it just means your giving yourself a break.
For the majority of people who are dedicated to achieving their dreams, goals, and ambitions, taking time out means completely stopping what they are working on and going on a vacation somewhere. Doing this usually requires picking out a vacationing location, spending money on transportation and accommodations, and doing touristy things like going to shops and buying trinkets and knickknacks to bring home. Going out to a nice restaurant or taking part in the nightlife and even maybe checking out a local festival of some type. There’s nothing wrong with the idea in itself. If you have the time and money and want to go do that, then go for it. However with that said I’d like to note that giving yourself a break does not have to be a big deliberate adventure, or involve packing up and heading to some exotic location. I am merely suggesting you give yourself a break from time to time to be better able to avoid the dreaded misery of burnout.
Whatever it is you have chosen to focus on and spend the majority of your time and energy making sure you do your best at it is great. Doesn’t matter if it’s your career, side hustle/hobby, relationship/family, or physical fitness/sport. Go ahead and keep it a top priority because it’s super important to you. Taking time out does not mean you have to break your dedication, or that you have to go away somewhere. All it means is you need to include it as a priority for your mental/physical wellness.
The thing about it is that giving yourself a break can be really easy and simple. So don’t even entertain the thought that right now is no good, I have deadlines, too much at stake, no way to stop now, …. That’s bull and you know it, so stop making excuses. True I don’t know exactly what it is that you may need to take a break from or at least a breather from. However, I am 100% sure there is a way for you to be able to do it, like I said you just need to consider it also to be a priority in your life. I will provide for you a variety of ways you can very easily take a break. Hopefully, with the list of ideas, you can find one or two you can either use or come up with your own variation of one so that it will be better suited for you.
ANYONE and EVERYONE can do this one, even if you are super busy all the time. It might be simple however it is ideal for taking time out for your mental wellness. Simply stop, sit, close your eyes and relax. Let your mind go, let it drift, and pay attention only to how you breathe. It only takes five to ten minutes and can be done almost anywhere. When things are really hectic, this might just be the thing to help you to stay grounded and not lose your mind in crazy frantic busy busy situations.
This one is for the SUPER BUSY PEOPLE out there, you know who you are. You have everything planned all the time, someone asks you what are you doing on Tuesday and you have an answer even though it’s only Friday. My suggestion for taking time out for you is an easy one. Pick a day, it does not matter which one, however, with the day you choose, your only plan is not to plan anything at all. Take the day as it comes, do whatever you feel like doing, or better yet, do nothing at all. Use the day to do absolutely nothing, binge-watch your favorite TV show, or watch movies all day. It does not matter what you do, just make sure it’s relaxing.
Individuals that are at HOME ALL THE TIME including those who are full-time stay-at-home parents. Pick a day and just hang out in your pajamas for the entire day. If anyone asks whether it’s others you live with or visitors that pop in, tell them today is PJ day. Even your meals could be breakfast all day. French toast for supper, sausages for lunch, eggs for snack. Whatever it is you consider breakfast in your house, enjoy it any time of the day cause it’s PJ day. You can even walk around in your slippers all day if you have any. Sneak in a bubble bath if possible. If you are a stay home parent tell your kids today is an all-day slumber party, and watch cartoons with them.
Here is one for LOVING COUPLES which may very well improve your relationship with your partner. Especially if you’re the type of couple that seems to be glued to each other’s hip. You do everything together, matter of fact you spend so much time together that you can now finish each others’ sentences. Taking time out of your relationship could do wonders. One of you go hang out with a friend(s) for the night. The whole night. The other one gets to stay home so they can have a break, a little time to themselves to do whatever they want; read, watch a movie, whatever. When you get back together you both have something new to talk about, it could be exciting. Next weekend you might want to reverse it. The one who stayed home goes out for the night and the one who went out gets to stay home.
If you’re ONLINE ALL THE TIME because you run an online business and/or spend alot of your time with social media you could take one day off every month or every 2nd month. For the whole day, you do not answer your phone or check your email. You can even give people in the Cyber world a heads up if you really feel the need. Just include a message on your site or status that you will be unavailable on such-and-such a date due to personal reasons.
This idea is geared for those ON THE ROAD driving to and from work every day. You’re likely the same person who has driven to and from work for so long, you could almost do it in your sleep (highly not recommended). For you, it’s more about breaking the daily habit and switching up your routine or more specifically your route. Choose a different way to get to where you’re going. This will change the scenery, and give you a chance to explore a little bit. The first time you do this, it might be best to do on the trip home so you can see how long it takes. It might be a nicer more relaxing path that takes a little longer and that way if you want to try the same route going to work, then you will know if you need to leave your home earlier. Who knows you may even find a quicker way to work, not because it’s shorter but because there is less traffic and/or stops to make.
This is one of my PERSONAL FAVOURITE way of taking time out for myself. It’s simply being in the here and now in this moment. With this method, you just randomly at some point in your day pause and observe your surroundings. No judging, or anything, just take it all in. Sometimes I use the moment to observe myself, as in how do I feel, what kinda mood am I in, what kind of thoughts are floating in my head, that kind of thing. Other times I use it to observe the activities going on around me, just casually watching things like people kicking a ball around, traffic coming and going, park activities, someone making a sandcastle, or people flying kites. Basically, sit relax and watch the busyness of the world around you. Then there are the times I will place my focus on something particular. Examples of this would be cloud watching, simple objects like a random wildflower or flowers, a tree, listening to and watching birds that are around, a spider creating a web, and so on. Just simply be in the moment where ever you are.
There you go, if you can not remember the last time you had a break from the treadmill of life, then get to it. Giving yourself a break could be the very thing that will get you rejuvenated, and pumped up with excitement and energy to continue your day-to-day routines, tasks, and busy busy life. Best of luck to you, go enjoy yourself, you deserve it. Leave a note in the comments, love to know what your plan is for taking time out for yourself.
RazzWorks 
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