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When your motivation is strongest, the last thing you want is to take a break, but the benefits of "down time" are an enhanced ability to focus, capacity to work faster, renewed creativity and a good mood.
When you are in a non-traditional career working from home, without the workplace customs of coffee breaks, a lunch hour and paid holidays, you may find yourself working non-stop for hours or even days at a time. Physical and emotional tension occurs when you shut down the part of your brain that notices your basic needs, so you can focus only on your goal. Although a strong focus is crucial to your success, breaks are equally as crucial.
Break time is needed to:
1) Rejuvenate
2) Get fresh ideas
3) Let problems "solve themselves" by standing back to gain perspective
4) Relieve stress
To benefit from down time, all you need is a simple 10 minute break. But make sure you switch gears (i.e. switch senses). For example, if your work is mostly visual such as writing, research, virtual assistant then conversing with a pleasant person or listening to music will be refreshing. If your work is auditory such as pay per call advice, telephone support, or business coaching then reading a magazine or watching the scenery will be refreshing. And for any job that is mental, get your body moving; walking, jumping, stretching, or dancing really brings you back to life. Health professionals recommend the following schedule for down time, no matter what your occupation:
- Ten minutes on the hour
- Three hours per day
- 1.5 days per week
- 3 day weekend every two months
- 1 personal day per month – when needed
- 2 weeks per year
- 12 holidays a year
You deserve to keep refreshed and balanced. Remember to get up and stretch, and change to a different sensory mode. Check in with yourself and ask yourself, "If you were the adult and I was the little kid, what could you do right now that would be fun or make me feel better."
When you are in a non-traditional career working from home, without the workplace customs of coffee breaks, a lunch hour and paid holidays, you may find yourself working non-stop for hours or even days at a time. Physical and emotional tension occurs when you shut down the part of your brain that notices your basic needs, so you can focus only on your goal. Although a strong focus is crucial to your success, breaks are equally as crucial.
Break time is needed to:
1) Rejuvenate
2) Get fresh ideas
3) Let problems "solve themselves" by standing back to gain perspective
4) Relieve stress
To benefit from down time, all you need is a simple 10 minute break. But make sure you switch gears (i.e. switch senses). For example, if your work is mostly visual such as writing, research, virtual assistant then conversing with a pleasant person or listening to music will be refreshing. If your work is auditory such as pay per call advice, telephone support, or business coaching then reading a magazine or watching the scenery will be refreshing. And for any job that is mental, get your body moving; walking, jumping, stretching, or dancing really brings you back to life. Health professionals recommend the following schedule for down time, no matter what your occupation:
- Ten minutes on the hour
- Three hours per day
- 1.5 days per week
- 3 day weekend every two months
- 1 personal day per month – when needed
- 2 weeks per year
- 12 holidays a year
You deserve to keep refreshed and balanced. Remember to get up and stretch, and change to a different sensory mode. Check in with yourself and ask yourself, "If you were the adult and I was the little kid, what could you do right now that would be fun or make me feel better."