Reflaction: Maximizing the benefits of our breaks

In this week’s podcast episode, we talk about a very basic self-care practice that’s often forgotten or minimized in terms of its importance—breaks. And even if we rationally understand the value of breaks, it can be incredibly challenging to shake off our drive to be constantly productive and, let’s face it, the good feelings that can come with that.

However, it does come with some costs. And, as I learned several years ago, even if we’re already taking breaks, we might be able to maximize their benefits by making some simple tweaks and taking notice of the data.

Admittedly I haven’t always been great at taking breaks and often ate my lunch while doing paperwork. And there are still days where I continue with that pattern. But I compassionately remind myself that perfection isn’t the goal and there may be times when eating lunch at the computer can be self-care (e.g., it allows me to catch up on paperwork, have a relaxing dinner with friends, go for a walk after work, etc.).

Okay, so back to maximizing the benefits of our breaks. Several years ago, I was actually pretty good at taking “real lunch breaks” (i.e., ones where I wasn’t working as I ate lunch). At first it started out by simply setting 30 minutes aside to eat my lunch while I sat in my office. Sometimes I used that time to think about and plan weekend events, do some pleasure reading, or make personal calls and those breaks were restorative.

One day, however, I forgot my lunch which forced me out of the building in search of food. Much to my surprise, leaving the building seemed to make my lunch break even more beneficial. Hmmmm... So, I began leaving the building on a more regular basis. Even on those days when I didn’t need to go in search of food. Sometimes I used my “out-of-office” break to simply eat my lunch on a nearby bench, other times I had a quick bite and used the time to explore some of the local shops (I consider gift shops to be similar to art galleries and I can be quite content simply looking at all the beautiful items), and other times I went out for lunch with a coworker.

It didn’t seem to necessarily matter exactly how I spent my “out-of-office” time, the key for me was leaving the building. Honestly, I would never have imagined it could have made such a difference.

But as is often the case, I recently realized that I’d fallen back into the familiar pattern of spending my breaks in my office. And with Spring now in full swing, I decided it was high time to use the data from that old (accidental) self-care experiment to, once again, be more intentional with how I use my breaks.

So today I intentionally planned a mindful walk to a nearby restaurant for lunch. And you know what? My intentional self-care experiment provided me with the same valuable data. For me, leaving the office during a break was definitely more restorative. (Of course in the middle of a Manitoba winter the data might be different; mental note to redo this experiment in December.)

So, if you’re looking for ways to maximize the benefit of your breaks, consider taking them outside. Or experiment with other activities during your break like meditating, doodling, reading, socializing with someone, doing a quick chair dance, knitting, etc., etc. There is no right or wrong - we’re all unique and what replenishes our energy might also be different. And, what replenishes us on one day might be different on another day. What is most important is that you gather the data for yourself.

Where will your reflactions take you?