Sometimes your mind might scream enough please give me a break. It may not say this literally, but there will be many obvious physical signs like fatigue, inability to concentrate, feeling low, feeling overwhelmed, irritable. When you feel all these signs, it means your mind is being over worked, perhaps speeding away.
Can we get away from the speed that our lives bring in? Our life is organized by seconds, sometimes you need to catch 7:00 am train or to reach your office earlier or exact 9.00 am to swipe your employee card at the office. All things geared to keep you on schedule, which sometimes we can’t run away from as they keep our home fires burning.
But we can surely relax for at least 5 to 10 minutes during our hard work day. And we need to do this without feeling guilty and by mentally saying to ourselves my 5 minute break is coming up and I am going to take it. This is applicable whether you work outside or at home and for both adults and children. For children it is necessary to take a break or a time out when they feel angry or upset.
Taking short breaks in between the long work hours make one more productive. If you have a lunch hour coming up, please take this break away from your desk along with your friends and colleagues. Research suggests that when people skip their lunch breaks, they become tired faster and thus become less happy and enthused about their work. According to a research survey of 1,000 adults done in UK by BUPA, an international insurance company, companies in the UK lose nearly £50 mn/day, when employees don’t take break from their work as they become tired.
Thus it makes more sense for employers to encourage their employees to take these short breaks. It would be incorrect for bosses to think, that they are getting more work done when their team work without breaks. All employers need to encourage their employees to take a break to reduce the work stress to improve worker efficiencies.
Thinks you need to do when you decide to take a short break.
- Take a short nap.
- Go for a small walk in the sun.
- Drink your quota of water while doing a puzzle etc.
- Go chat with your friend, neighbor, and colleague.
- Read a page of your favorite book, magazine or any articles or blogs online.
- Clean up your work drawer and desk.
- Surf the web, check something interesting.
There is no hard and fast rule on how to take your break. The goal should be to relax yourself to charge your mind positively. While short breaks calms an overworked mind during the day and a full day break or a short holiday can calm your mind and body. However, many people take their work along on a holiday as they are insecure about their jobs, thus defeating the very purpose of taking time out and de-stressing. While, this could be justified, it is still important to make time for yourself and spend time with family and friends.
Balance is the key to have a happy and successful life. Taking breaks helps us build this balance and allow us to pursue our dreams more efficiently and give a better perspective about things. So next time when you get a chance to take a break, take it.