Burnout is real. And regardless of original intentions, overworking can actually prevent people from reaching their goals. I've touched on this a little before in the article https://www.gaudylanguage.com/post/taking-a-hiatus about taking a break from work, whether that's because of burnout (from the work itself or a toxic workplace), desire to travel the world, or for other reasons. But what about daily breaks? Here are some ideas for a daily recharge:
Meditation: Meditation is a great way to relax and decompress. Meditation is useful anytime but can be an especially great way to start and/or end the day.
Vacation/Staycation: Take a trip without feeling like you have to spend all or part of it working. Even if you can't buy a ticket to another place, you can take a day off to relax and do things you enjoy doing (that don't involve being productive.)
Create (Without expectations): Even if creating is your full-time job, sometimes it's nice to just make something without the expectation of perfection or compensation or standards. Just pouring your heart out in art can be a great way to both relax and recharge your creative spark.
Spend some time in nature: Being out near the water or hiking through the trees can have a restorative effect on the mind and relieve stress.
Move: Dance, take a spin around the block, anything that gets your heart rate up.
Sleep: Take a nap, get to bed early- whatever you can do to rest your body and mind.
Take a break from electronics: It might seem impossible to do because our lives are wrapped up in our phones and other electronics, but taking even short breaks from the daily pings and updates and scrolling can be really helpful for relaxation.
It may feel hard to take a break, especially because we are often encouraged to be as productive as possible. Still, taking a moment to revitalize ourselves not only helps us be healthier- it also helps us be our most creative, productive selves at work.
