I don’t hate to admit it, in fact – I’m usually the one who spots this issue myself, but taking time off from work is one of the most important and beneficial things we can ever do, as people who’re determined, hard workers. I was reading this post from Janna, but I’ve clearly got my angle to it, and so here it goes.
Besides me confusing a couple of things, regarding the path of this blog I was going to initially take, I overwhelmed myself with different types of content, which in reality I don’t even want to write about, and so after my last break, which was only a short four weeks ago, I instantly fell back into that state of no creative drive, or any energy to do some actual work.
While I did realize this, I spent another week pondering it, forcing myself to write stuff I didn’t want to write, even signup to writing gigs that I’m now looking back at as…well, just another distraction. I’m clearly going to take one more break from this blog, to perhaps focus on a few other things in my life, but most importantly, switch off from the daily routine I had built for myself.
Why is taking time off from working at home so important? I think I know the answer now.
Working from Home is Very Hard
It’s even harder when you’ve got family members around you, and that your working desk doesn’t really feel like real office space, it’s more like a desk with a computer on it, and you sitting in the chair, trying to build a better life for yourself. I think that rings the truth bell for so many of us. Whether we like it or not.
The real issue here is not discipline, or lack of confidence, but the fact that we are literally waking up in the same space we’re going to be spending the next few hours, working in. It’s very difficult, and because of this we have to take frequent breaks. I hope that next week, when I’m on my break – I’ll be able to figure out just how much time I want to spend doing actual work, and whether that would make me more productive or not.
Things Get Much Easier When You Come Back
Like with anything, when we take a break from something, we’re bound to feel much better and energized when we come back to it, like the summer holidays for students. At least in my country, kids get three months of holidays, to enjoy themselves and have fun, and that huge gap is often the one that can help these kids decide the direction they want to take. Guess what, most of those decisions are pretty shit.
We’re not going to be taking three months to ourselves, I feel bad for taking a week off, but I think that one week is just the perfect amount of time to let your mind slide in that neutral state of feeling good, and so when you’re back to doing some more work, you’ve got that reignited sense of direction in you again.
Decide What You’re Going To Do on Your Break
I’m probably gonna read a ton of books, articles and take notes. But, isn’t that work? It technically is, but it’s also one area in my life which I’ve avoided for so long, and for no apparent reason, and perhaps it’s now the right time for me to catch up, and gain a new perspective on things. I’m ready to go through a couple of books.
And, I’m also looking forward to spending much more time out in the nature, which is simply the best place to be when you want to recharge, and regain your energy back. It’s absolutely necessary for us humans, to be in the nature every day, at least for some amount of time.
I say that, as if I’ve been doing it myself, and that is just another reason I feel that we need to give ourselves the time to reflect, and forget about work as something that can control our lives.
All this is great advice, but how do I prepare? How can I leave work behind?
Preparation for Taking Time Off from Working at Home
Now, I hope you never missed the title, or the part where I said that this post is meant for those people who’re strictly working from home, on their own terms. Which also means, that we’re probably miles ahead of our own schedule, and often overdo our work so much that it’s enough to last us years.
I think there could be better wording found for that analogy, please let me know if you want me to elaborate.
So, to prepare for taking time off, I only advise you to realize that you need to take a break, and then take a few days before you’re signing off, as a way of completing the most important tasks, doing something ahead of time, and really thinking over stuff you’re going to do, while you’re away.
In my case, it’s writing this post, two articles for my clients, and perhaps setting up another computer account, which I’ll be using to read, and learn. But, no kind of work. I forgot to mention that I take this very seriously, and so I literally switch off from everything, even social media.
There is no better way to recharge, than to forget about it all completely, until you feel good enough to come back, or..a week has passed. We don’t want to overdo it.
Relaxation Means Different Things to All of Us
I tried to portray this as best as I could, and I’ve tried to give you some real life examples, of my own experiences and how I deal with stress, and simply the feeling of having done too much, in too quick of a time.
I’ve included a lot of present moment talk in this post, but it’s more than likely that by the time you’re going to be reading this, I’ll be long back from my week long break, doing things – hopefully in different manner, with more focus and attention to detail, as it usually happens.
I hope I was able to inspire you to do the same thing, and I’ll happily respond back to you, if you share stories of the same nature, with me and other community readers. :)
