Take a deliberate break

It is easy to get caught up in a constant loop of action. It is easy to fill every waking moment with action, reaction, and distraction.

To plan in real breaks is as important as actually doing things. The breaks can be long or short — anything from a 5–20 minute breathing session to a whole Sunday of doing good for your soul.

Breaks are a time foremost to relax the mind. Get back to baseline, away from a state of stress. Secondly, breaks are good for absorbing everything you do the rest of the time. Thinking passively about things allows them to be better absorbed — thus breaks are efficient in the long run. You take a step back and perceive new dimensions related to what you are doing. Finally, you’re more likely to notice what is truly important to you right now — simply creating space in your mind for new ideas and thoughts to become conscious.

The reason I write about this, however, is I believe the breaks we take do not fulfill that purpose anymore. If you fill up your breaks with Netflix, a smartphone, or some other interaction — it is not a break in the same way — at least not for me. If you are distracting yourself then the brain cannot relax to its full potential.

In a nutshell; be deliberate about breaks — you will enjoy your activities more if you take a moment of relaxing, and respecting that moment without distractions.