Do you often find yourself feeling burnt out, or overly stressed because of your job? Has this stress ever taken its toll on your body? It may be a sign you need to take a day off. A real day off, not a day to get chores done around the house or working from home "day off". When we give our brains a chance to rest, they begin to process things we've seen and heard which then become creative ideas and inspiration. Suddenly our creative blocks turn into bumps in the road we've already overcome and we feel satisfied with the result. So how can we make the best of our time off? 1. Turn off your phone or leave it alone for an extended period of time. I see this tip floating around a lot. There's a lot to be said about people who can't switch off from work in their down time, it's almost an unhealthy codependecy because we think or we know work will need to ask us questions so we keep a line open for communication. However, in doing so, we stop ourselves from truly relaxing.
So what if that paperwork isn't submitted on your day off, I'm sure it can wait a day. From an employers perspective, building a strong team around you who you trust to leave alone to work is the key to being able to take time off without worrying. Trust they will be able to look after the place while you're gone and in no time you'll be feeling the weight of stress roll off you. 2. When you're at home lose yourself in a passion project. I'm a bugger for this one. When I have days off, I potter about the house looking for things to clean, for chores to do and before I know it, I've wasted a day and I don't necessarily feel like I've had time off. It's important to ensure we make time for passion projects, like learning an instrument, creative DIY, or something else which makes us happy which doesn't necessarily have to get us anywhere in life. It's good to have somethings in our life which are just there for us to enjoy, not because we need to do it. 3. Explore places you've been before with a fresh perspective. Often we visit the same parks, the same walks and it can quickly turn into one big monotonous chore to encourage our physical wellbeing. We stop engaging our brain and switch off to the adventures we are having, no matter how small. By changing your perspective and maybe viewing these walks as if you'd never been there before, you might find something new to experience, something which inspires your brain. When we take time off, it should be time spent doing something different with your day, not the same thing from a different location. By spicing up days off and filling them with things you want to do instead of have to, you'll definitely go back to work with a fresh and awake mind. Until next time.