Recharge your batteries
I’m taking this weekend off from blogging to help a friend with some moving. This is the same friend who’s helped me so much with my clutter lately. I’ll be heading up to New York with him tomorrow to help move some things from his storage unit and return the favor by helping him unload some of his clutter. I have really been focused on my writing and promoting the site, so I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed lately. This is my most serious and successful attempt at running a blog yet! Also, a promising employment opportunity that I thought may have slipped away appears to have shown its head again and I’m eager to see what good things may come of it.
This provides an excellent topic of discussion. When you are seriously getting into personal development or just working hard in general, sometimes it’s good to sit back and reflect upon what you have done, rest a bit and then get back at it. Of course, make sure you take breaks throughout the day (or night..I’ve been a shift-worker before!), take a ten-minute break and take a short walk or just stretch out a bit.
What I’m talking about is refreshing yourself a bit more often by getting away for more extended periods of time. Just forget about what you’ve been doing for a bit and reboot your mental computer. My personal preference (even though I don’t always get to stick to it myself) is to get away or go out for at least a day on my own each week. If all is well, in addition to that I try to take some kind of long weekend (or longer) getaway at least once every three months. This habit will really free you up and make you a more productive and efficient worker when you return.
The United States has a bad habit (some might even say tradition) of overworking. Japan is probably just as bad in some ways. I just read a Yahoo article the other day about a Toyota executive who literally worked himself to death. Many countries in Europe have a tradition of taking breaks often and it really aids in their production and efficiency.
Do you ever feel so overloaded with information at work that you just start to shut down? It is essentially like your brain really is a computer that has just overloaded its RAM and starts to run slower and slower. Multitasking can expedite this process. There have been studies that have shown that multitasking creates more ineffectiveness and lower cognitive efficiency than smoking pot does.
This brings me to an even more important case study. Men’s Health magazine did a study a few years back. One of their writers took an extended vacation of 30+ days. He came back feeling refreshed and said he gained major improvements in memory and energy because of the vacation. Taking time off can also help you get recharged and re-enthused to return to work and go at it harder than ever.
So go out and enjoy yourself at least one day this weekend. Take a road trip to some interesting place nearby that you’ve been meaning to see but just haven’t made the time. Get together with friends. Take your mind off of work for a bit and really enjoy yourself.
Also start thinking about the possibility of taking time off in the near future on a long weekend or even putting those vacation days to good use and taking a REAL vacation. Once you do this you’ll feel better in every facet of your life, and come back a new person with a renewed vigor and passion for whatever tasks await you.
Take a much-deserved break. You’ve earned it.
Clark
