You know what it feels like when you've been staring at a screen for too long? How about when your body is tense and your eyes are burning? Or maybe how you can't remember what day of the week it is or where your keys are? We all experience these things from time to time, especially if we work with technology on a regular basis. Thankfully, there are ways to combat this feeling—and one of them involves taking breaks!
Step away from your desk.
Take a break from your desk. Get up and go for a walk, run, swim, hike, bike ride or drive. Or just go for a walk in the park or woods.
You need to get away from your desk and find ways to get some exercise during the day—it helps prevent obesity and depression as well as improve concentration and productivity at work.
Move around each day.
Imagine you're a car and you've been sitting in one place for months on end, collecting dust. When you finally decide to clean up, your engine might sputter and your gears will grind. The same thing happens to us living beings when we keep ourselves stagnant for too long: our bodies get stiff and unresponsive, making it harder to move around and stay healthy in the long run.
The first step toward keeping your body in working order is simply moving around more throughout the day—this helps keep blood flowing through all of its major systems; keeps the brain active by engaging different regions of its structure (and thus prevents mental decline associated with aging); helps maintain strong bones by increasing bone density; improves muscle strength; improves flexibility; boosts metabolism—the list goes on!
Go outside.
Going outside is one of the best ways to relax, and it's free! Nature has a way of calming your mind, which makes taking breaks in the great outdoors a great idea. If you have time during your break, go for a walk or run in nature. Or simply sit on the grass and enjoy being outside. You can also engage with your surroundings by taking 10 minutes to do some exercise (e.g., push-ups) or pick up trash if there is any around you.
Find out what works best for you - maybe relaxing by yourself isn't relaxing at all! Maybe going for an afternoon jog with friends is exactly what you need to recharge your batteries when they're running low after a long day at work...
Your social relationships are essential.
It's important to have a support network whether it is new friends on the same journey as you or old ones that you have known for years. Being around others who support and encourage your growth understands important rest is. Believing that we are made to constantly keep pushing ourselves to exhaustion and burn out is unrealistic. People pleasing and dragging ourselves through piles of stress have to stop. In order to rest, we have to recognize that we must take care of ourselves first then help others.
Take a vacation or staycation.
Take a vacation. If you don't have the money to go on an actual vacation, take a staycation instead. Just because you take time off does not mean you have to spend thousands of dollars to sit on an overcrowded beach. Our society has developed a sick habit of overworking and pushing through fatigue. We pay astronomical amounts for rent or a mortgage and then even more to decorate just to work 40 hours (or more) just to sit home for 4 hours than go to bed. Even working from home allows time in your home but you're still working. Not much of a balance if you're still glued to a screen... just saying.
Take a break from your phone and computer. These devices can be draining, so it's important to step away from them every once in awhile. Put your phone down and see the world around you. There is soo much beauty in nature and we're missing it all glued to our phones, tablets and computers.
Take a break from your work or routine—and try something new!
Get some sleep.
One of the most important things you can do for your physical and mental health is getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation has a number of negative effects on both our bodies and minds, so it’s important to get enough sleep every night.
There are many different ways that you can improve your sleep hygiene, but here are some quick tips to get started:
Have regular bedtimes and wake up times (go to bed at 10pm every night)
Avoid caffeine after 3pm; this includes chocolate! It’ll make your body think it’s still daytime and prevent you from falling asleep as easily. I so struggle with this one. I am not perfect. I love my chocolate and coffee. LOL
Try not to eat right before going to bed; food can keep you awake if you have any digestive issues or stomach pains.
Find a hobby.
Hobbies are an excellent way to relax, meet people, learn new skills, express your creativity and make money. If you choose hobbies that involve physical exertion (ex: biking, hiking) or creative pursuits (ex: art, music), you'll find that these activities also provide a healthy outlet for stress. And if you're lucky enough to have a hobby where both of these elements are present—what could be better?
Don't check your work email when you're on vacation.
It's easy to forget, but you're on vacation. You don't want to be tempted to respond to emails or miss out on fun activities because you're working. If someone needs an immediate answer, they can call or text you—and if it's not urgent, they'll simply wait until your return.
This also helps avoid burnout and stress during the workday, which can result in more sick days being taken off when employees feel overwhelmed by their workloads.
Manage your distractions and time-wasters.
If you find that your productivity is suffering, it may be a result of distractions and time-wasters. You can train yourself to avoid these by being aware of them in the first place.
Stay focused on what’s important. Most people have trouble concentrating due to their high expectations of themselves and other people, and this leads them to multitasking or procrastinating as a way out of their own discomfort. Instead, focus solely on one task at a time so that you can do it well without worrying about what else needs doing later on in the day or week (or even year).
Learn how to say no when someone asks for help with something that’s not part of your job description (and maybe even if it is). You might think this would hurt a friendship or relationship with someone but it doesn’t! If anything, saying no will free up more time for things that matter most such as spending quality time with family members or friends who actually want whatever they came up with together anyway—not just because they're obligated too due some silly favor asked offhandedly by someone else which led nowhere anyway…
Taking breaks and stepping away from work is not a sign of laziness or lack of commitment to your job; it's a sign of psychological health, emotional wellness, and a commitment to yourself.
Taking breaks is necessary for your health and productivity. You will be more productive if you take regular breaks from your work, but sometimes it can be hard to take these breaks when you need them. Taking breaks when you don't need them can help with this problem. For example, if your job requires that you spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen, or if it's physically demanding (such as construction), taking periodic walks around the office is better than nothing! Even just standing up while working rather than sitting all day has been shown to improve productivity by reducing fatigue and back pain associated with long periods of sitting still.
Taking short but frequent breaks throughout the day can reduce stress levels and increase focus on task completion by increasing blood flow throughout the body—and once again: everyone needs their blood flowing! Even though we tend not think about it often, our bodies were built for movement; remember how good it feels after playing sports or going swimming? The same principle applies here: getting up every now and then will make working seem much less like work because we've taken care of ourselves first!
Conclusion
Now that you know the facts, I hope you’ll be able to make some positive changes in your own workday. While I don’t claim that these strategies will work for everyone—they may not even work for anyone!—I encourage everyone to experiment with them and see what feels right. After all, personal productivity is about finding a system that works best for each individual person.
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