The power of taking a break

Why rest is important and how to get more of it

This past week I had my first holiday abroad in 2 years.

Well, when I say holiday, I mean a break from most of the normal things that I do on a day to day basis.

You never really go on ‘holiday’ when you have small children, you’re just taking care of them in a different location!

I realised quickly that it took way longer to relax into it than expected. Perhaps 3 or 4 days into the week long vacation I felt like maybe I was a teeny bit more relaxed.

By the time I felt fully relaxed it was time to come home again.

This is not uncommon.

Most professionals are working crazy hours of the week and doing so alongside family responsibilities and yet we are encouraged to take rest so that we can avoid burnout.

But how do you go from crazy busy to restful and relaxed - quickly, so that you can enjoy it more?

Creating new routines

My experience this week taught me that it’s all about creating new routines as soon as you can in your new location.

My new routine was swimming every day.

I don’t have the luxury of a pool near me at home, so I made sure that at every nap time I went for a swim, and that was one of the most relaxing things I managed to do for myself this past week.

I really looked forward to this small build into my day. Even if the rest of the day was stressful, I knew that my time was coming.

Thankfully Scarlett was a little more regular with her naps (it must have been all that adorable crying and trying walk into the pool that she was doing). So as soon as her eyes closed, I was already ready to go for my dip in peace and quiet.

After a few lengths of serenity and the warm sun shining down on me, I would stop momentarily to take in the beautiful views and let my head fill up with new ideas and questions about life.

That was it - for me that’s what rest is supposed to be.

Each time I emerged from the pool a different person.

That brief pause in a chaotic day, changed me mentally, physically and emotionally.

Introverts and extroverts

My dad created a makeshift bench using some unwanted pallets. I sat on this bench with Austin for our ‘special time’ and we chatted about what it means to be an introvert and extrovert.

I would very much classify myself as an introvert and I know that I need time alone to recharge. So I made sure that my relaxing segment was alone.

My husband on the other hand is definitely more towards the extrovert end of the scale, and found his energy increasing when he got to interact with some of the locals and my parents’ neighbours.

Austin very cutely said that he thought he was a bit of both, it was great to see his little 5 year old mind self-reflecting this way.

To sum up

You don’t have to wait until you’re on holiday to take rest and recharge yourself.

Knowing how you best relax is a great place to start.

If you’re introverted think about what alone time are you carving out for yourself to regenerate. If you’re extroverted, who can you find around you to generate the bounce that you need?

Completely removing yourself from your day to day existence is a good way to take a break, but not always possible.

It helps if, whilst you’re in this ‘relaxing period’, you create new routines quickly using the same principles of habit stacking that I’ve mentioned previously.

Anything missing that works for you? Want to ask me anything?

I’ll meet you in the comments.

-Selda

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