What if...
Instead of always looking ahead to the weekend, a holiday/extended break or vacation, we learned how to do things in our personal favor that refill our cup each day? Then when those official breaks come, we can get straight to the fun or actual relaxing vs first recovering from all the stress?
Love this quote:
Instead of merely getting up in the morning to fly (or crawl for most people) out of bed and get ready to transport to a job we spend more time at than with our friends and families, maybe we can figure out a schedule where time is taken for ourselves first. The world can wait. And honestly, it's for the best. Trust me.
What else?
Do you have breaks throughout your workday? If you're not taking them, you need to start. Take time to sharpen your axe because continuing to push through thinking you are being more productive just because you are burning up time does not equal quality results. This is the quickest route to burn-out, and you have the front seat, my friend.
Not sure what you should or could do in those breaks - here are some ideas I currently use myself:
15 Minutes
Meditate
Read - preferably something positive like self-development type stuff or I also will do some of my bible reading. Anything that keeps you happier minded and focused on what's truly important to you outside of the grind and stress of work.
Write - brain dump if you have a lot going on up there. Clear your head. Or, if you don't work from home, start texting in your notes app little notes you can write out in cards to mail to people later. That's always fun, encouraging and a fantastic way to "pay it forward" in life.
Text - reach out to people you haven't talked to in a while, say hi, see how THEY are doing. Get outside of yourself and your own immediate stressors.
Draw/artsy stuff
Stretch
Take a walk - even if that's to refill your drinking cup, grab a snack, do the stairs for 5 minutes. MOVE.YOUR.BODY. Your mind will thank you!
1 Hour
All the above, but more of it. Did you really think I was going to make this difficult??? 😎
One thing I do suggest is limiting if not staying off social media during these times. For most people, social media drains you mentally and for many people, can make them have more negative feelings from what they are (mindlessly) scrolling through, even if they do not post comments or reactions to what they are seeing. Really try to make these daily breaks about you and refilling that energy cup - even if it seems to add up to "only" a figurative drink as it should be enough to get you through the rest of the workday.
Remember, while most if not all of us need to work to support ourselves and our families, a job should be supplementing our life, not our all-consuming life. And I understand having tough bosses where you feel like you shouldn't even take a lunch break or go to the bathroom sometimes, but the reality is, once you start taking care of yourself and everyone sees the quality of your work improve, they really have no place to say. The job will get done, I'm sure of it. I won't even get into the "rules" companies should abide by for their employees in accordance with breaks, but regardless, you can take control of this yourself by simply being educated about those rights and planning them accordingly.
Otherwise, if you feel that you are really in a bind and cannot seem to find any reprieve well, even more so why you should take extra time before work for you. Then, when the day is done, sharpen that axe to get ready for the next, but don't put energy into the fact that you must work again tomorrow, for you still have time today. That is where the glorious daily "break" comes again. My mother said to me once, "When you clock out for the day, mentally act as if you just started vacation time off. Even though it's for the night. Don't think or care about the job, just as you would if you flew away on vacation." Best advice ever, and I'm still working on that myself as I transitioned 5 years ago to work from home. But I'm almost there. Every day gets closer.
So, stop wasting your days worrying, stressing, and being downright lazy and carry that home or into the rest of your night to start all over the next day or after the weekend. We don't need to be counting down months to a vacation when so much happens and depletes us when each day is a chance to refresh, restart and renew ourselves. Remember: one week of vacation will still go by too quickly anyway and we will be right back to the grind of stress. Stop wasting our days and stop counting down the time.
Rather, make them all count, for you.
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How do you feel day in and day out - do you only work for the weekend or vacation to be here? Or what else do you do to "make the days count?"
Feel free to drop a comment below!
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