Many people lead busy lives and know all too well the importance of keeping going from one day to the next. They hardly dare stop because there are business targets to achieve, new clients to be courted, as well as personal relationships with family, children and friends to be nurtured and maintained. Very occasionally there may be an interlude for a little time out!
Certain jobs and lifestyles provide no clearly defined opportunities for breaks or holidays. Children, ailing relatives, growing a new business, studying for professional exams and even the seasons bring their own demands. And with more people working from home, it’s often easier to keep going and not have regular break times during the day. However, maintaining an unremitting level of commitment to everything and everyone can eventually become counter-productive and ultimately negatively impact all areas of life. When you consider that there are over 360 documented symptoms of stress it’s hardly surprising that stress and its impact has become such an important ‘red flag’.
Sleep, concentration, sense of humour, as well as a miscellany of aches and pains are only some of the areas affected by stress. So taking regular breaks and, in particular, rest days and holidays are important ways to wind down and recalibrate or even switch off at times.
Rest days provide an alternative to the full-on, singular focus that may well be our usual way of operating on a daily basis. Everything changes gear when we’re out with friends, playing with our children, walking in the countryside or reading a good book. At those times we detach from our daily concerns, think differently, relax, and become less tense; we’re taking a day when nothing is expected of us.
A small window, a 20 minute break can improve our mindset and problem-solving abilities. So, taking a full day of rest away from the norm has even more benefits. It allows us to refresh our priorities, remind us of what’s really important in our lives and take a little care of ourselves. Afterwards we may return with new ideas and a fresh perspective on lingering problems and concerns, plus it’s good to occasionally remind ourselves and others that no one’s indispensable.
Holidays are a good way to completely change gear and focus on reinventing ourselves. We all have a variety of personas that we regularly adopt in our daily lives, depending on whichever situation we find ourselves in; busy professional, parent, co-worker, partner, fun friend, all are ‘hats’ that we might wear whenever appropriate situations arise.
We slip into character and automatically default to whatever’s expected of us. But a break, a holiday allows us the opportunity to shed those different personas and use our free time to become a playmate to our children, an attentive companion, an intrepid adventurer and explorer or even a relaxed beach bum. Single or partnered, we can use breaks and holidays to challenge ourselves in unexpected ways, to climb a mountain, learn to water ski, volunteer in an animal sanctuary or explore a new city. It’s a good way to meet new people, to potentially learn new skills and explore different cultures. In our everyday life we typically deal with familiar people and situations. A holiday often requires us to start conversations with strangers, be intrigued and curious about what we’re seeing and step outside our comfort zones.
In addition, introducing a change of pace and not being 100% available all the time is a good reminder to the people in our lives. We may have allowed them to rely on us for everything. It might have been easier, we knew we’d do it quicker or better, it allowed us to become important, indispensable, but doing everything ourselves discourages other people from thinking for themselves, demotivates them and does no one any favours in the long term.
Other people should be able to take up some of the slack, share the responsibilities, work load and feel confident about contributing. Learning to share tasks, teach others new skills, sometimes say ‘no’ and be assertive in appropriate ways can be an unexpected benefit from being firm about taking rest days and holidays. At work it’s important to have staff cover for holidays and sick leave, or even for especially busy times, but home too can benefit from delegating to partners and children, reminding them that clean clothes don’t magically appear and dinner doesn’t automatically get made.
Would we expect a co-worker, a friend, family member or even our car to work non-stop, without a break or service? Taking rest days and holidays is an important way to improve our sleep, our general health, wellbeing and consequently our relationships, work performance and quality of life.
Everything benefits when we take some time out.
Susan Leigh MNCH (ACC)
South Manchester counsellor, hypnotherapist, relationship counsellor, writer and media contributor offers help with relationship issues, stress management, assertiveness and confidence. She works with individual clients, couples and provides corporate workshops and support.
She’s author of 3 books, ‘Dealing with Stress, Managing its Impact’, ‘101 Days of Inspiration #tipoftheday’ and ‘Dealing with Death, Coping with the Pain’, all on Amazon and with easy to read sections, tips and ideas to help you feel more positive about your life.
To order a copy or for more information, articles, or to make contact please call 0161 928 7880 or visit www.lifestyletherapy.net
