Time for a Break – Relaxation, Daycation, Staycation or Vacation

Don’t be all work and no play. Be sure you take time for yourself daily. Also you should plan occasional days to get away from the job and just spend time with yourself or family and friends.

Try getting up a little earlier to use time at the beginning of each work day to prepare your mind and body by doing mental or physical exercises. This can increase your flexibility and capability for handling problems. If you prefer to sleep in each day, then consider relaxation exercises during the day to keep a calm head or at the end of the day to wind down. Consider leaving your desk at lunch to recover and refresh yourself before continuing to the next project. Reconfigure your commuting stress towards a positive attitude by using daily drive time to relax by listening to a good book on tape or soothing music. Even use a CD or the radio to sing along to your favorite songs, laugh with a comic, or hear a motivational speech can change your mood and help with the transition from work to home. These ideas all can be great for coping with stress or resetting yourself from the job to the home environment and related activities. Relaxing doesn’t have to be formal activities. If you enjoy gardening or another hobby, just taking time for yourself to work on these each week can help you relieve some stress. We all know structured daily exercise and relaxation are good for us; however we don’t always allow ourselves that time. Take that time!

Moving from daily plans for relaxing, Experience Life magazine sites many studies showing we need to occasionally take longer breaks from work. These longer breaks can be a short holiday or day off (daycation) at home with family, traveling vacations to see new places or distant family/friends, or the newer idea of staycations which means visiting local attractions due to rising costs of travel. Remember this time away from the job is important to rejuvenate, motivate, and invigorate.

What can you do to make sure you get this important time for yourself or your family? What are some ways you relax daily or weekly? When was your last vacation? What do you plan for your next one? How has taking time for yourself increased your productivity? Help others learn to take time too by sharing your ideas and experience via comments to this post.