A Joyous Perspective on Breaks: Building them in to your production of life.

This week at the Friday Night Thought Tale Hour with the Hendersons, we are both wrapping up an impressive week. It was filled with parts of vacation, parts of travels, parts of getting back to the career path and parts of celebrating. Certainly not a dull coast through the middle of February. As I looked back and examined how calm I felt and feel right now, I had to give credit to the many opportunities I had for taking a good break from life’s pressures. And for this self-proclaimed workaholic, it is quite an undertaking to get me to take a break. The past few months of my life wasted no in pushing me toward any quiet corner of the world I could grab. Do you ever resist taking a much-needed break, even when you are worn out? Do you ever fear taking breaks?

Maybe you think that if you stop working, everything is going to come crashing down?

Sometimes it feels like you’re riding a train of momentum, and if

you try to stop or slow down, you’re just going to come off the tracks. I know the feeling. Although I still have struggled with letting go of my ‘responsibilities,' I can see I’ve improved quite a bit.  I wanted so badly to achieve everything I could and would beat myself up if I didn’t. Coffee would fuel my mornings, deadlines and adrenaline my afternoons. No matter how tired I would get, I still wasn’t sleeping well, and I’d often spend weekends thinking about work. I could be out at lunch on a Sunday, only half engaged in a conversation with friends because I was already mentally rehearsing Monday. I knew that I was always just a little bit too stressed. And to make it worse, I was confused, caught between the fear of slowing down and the fear of allowing stress to damage my health.

My career and my need to achieve in all areas of life were running me.

And it wasn’t even that fulfilling. 

But finally, I hit a few walls, broke a few nails, and walked away from a few cliffs. It was the worst of times at the time, but now I see it as the best of times. 

So today I want to tell you something, and I really want you to listen.

You need a rest. You need to work in breaks.

I know what your brain is telling you. How will the kids get to school? How will the bills get paid? I have three to do lists - and that’s just this morning. How on earth am I going to find time to rest?!

How? By choice.

Fortunately, short breaks can become a part of anyone’s lifestyle, no matter how busy they are. You just have to make a choice. And the truth is that if you don’t rest, you’ll never feel like your body is recharging properly. Collapsing at the end of the day and falling into a deep sleep every once in a while will not provide that feeling of refreshment you crave. It's like plugging your phone charger halfway into the socket so that any vibration disconnects it. It never really gets to 100%.

Only through rest can you get back to 100%...

Our modern idea of success is to work longer and longer hours until we crash. Companies who praise the ‘hardest workers’ fuel this. It sets a precedent where everyone gives all their energy, but very little of their best work. The result is that we have a society where rest is considered to be a reward, or even worse, indulgent. 

But this is not the case at all; rest is a cornerstone of a healthy, happy, and productive life. 

In fact, rest throughout the day is as important as food, water, and

sleep. Breaks are even more important when you’ve been aroused for more than ninety minutes. It’s called an “ultradian rhythm,” a short cycle of time throughout your day. Just like being thirsty and wanting a drink of water,  your body craves a break to balance the activity. If you don’t eat properly, you get sick, and when you don’t rest properly, you get fatigued and unproductive. It sounds so logical, doesn’t it? But there are no Drive-thrus for rest breaks…

But there are simple things you can even do in your car, office or breakroom. One is something you are doing right now, but probably in a shallower state than needed:

Breathe. 

That’s right. In and out, but during our breaks, we need to focus on doing it deeply and thoughtfully. Oxygen is fuel for your blood and your brain. Just try it right now. Relaxing huh? And you can do it anytime, just by stopping to take a moment to think about it. Here’s another one:

Stretch.

Did you ever make an ugly face and hear an adult say, “Be careful, it will freeze that way…” You know, they really were not far off. Consider how long you sometimes hold the muscles of your body in a tense and uncomfortable place. After awhile, they kind of become stuck. Every ninety minutes or so, make sure you change position and take a big old stretch with your breath. No large circ du Soleil move. In fact, the more unique to you, the better. Just feel those muscles moving to something that feels good. Unstuck yourself. The next one takes a little more effort:

Change your scenery.

Every ninety minutes, make a move to move yourself to a place with a new view. It can be as small as looking out the window for a few moments.  For longer breaks, It can be as significant as getting on a plane, train or automobile. Make it interesting and something that will engage you. In an office, perhaps there’s a wall where you can place a thought-provoking piece of art that you can gaze at. Here’s the great thing about making a habit of this. You’ll find that the more you make yourself do this, the easier it will be to take an actual vacation from your responsibilities. Even disconnecting for a small segment of time will help you to believe that the world will still rotate on its axis without you. Sometimes we need that assurance to be built, from the ground up.

You can do all three together every day.

It’s not an excuse to work less or be less attentive to your roles in life. On the contrary. Taking breaks is a methodology for becoming stronger, more efficient and emotionally intelligent. Just like a good healthy meal or a nice cold glass of water, a good rest makes you more pleasant to be around. Your vitality will be evident to all.

So what are you waiting for? It is Friday…

Tonight, we will be drinking Key Lime Martinis, because they remind me of being on a nice warm break. We will toast to all of the real projects we will accomplish this weekend while building in plenty of time for breaks. Here’s to you finding your ultradian rhythms, and getting your groove back. Cheers, Friends!

Time for a break and a Key Lime Martini***
(serves 2)

4 oz Stoli® Vanil vodka
2 oz Rose's® lime juice
2 oz half-and-half

Pour all three ingredients into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lime, and serve.

***Always drink responsibly. Never drive after consuming alcohol.