Give Yourself a Break
Posted by Rhiannon Louise on July 11, 2007
Filed Under Personal Development
I’m writing this after a frantic day of airport runs for friends, running around trying to sell my house, dealing with a load of email requests for services that our strategic partners offer (all of whom are out of the office or on holiday today), handling a complicated request for documentation from our removal company (we’re moving to another country again!) and preparing a meal for a friend coming round tonight in need of a good old chinwag – so it’s fair to say that I’m frazzled and I felt the title of this post was highly appropriate - not just to the subject matter I’m about to impart but to me too!
Now why am I harping on about myself?
Because we all lead such busy, hectic and jugglesome lives with demands on our time coming from all angles (whoops there goes the doorbell) that I really do understand that it can become so easy to be distracted, to lose focus and to feel we are losing control of situations around us – which it is why it’s important to give yourself a break.
By this I mean literally and figuratively give yourself a break – so: -
a) give yourself a literal break to take some time out, stop, breathe, calm down, regain focus and
b) give yourself a break figuratively speaking and cut yourself some slack, stop trying to change yourself, stop fighting and resisting yourself, instead be nice and patient and encouraging with yourself and you will not only achieve far more in life but enjoy life far more…
Let me demonstrate why taking a break and giving yourself a break are so important for your mental, physical and emotional well being and also the well being of your company!
1) Why it is important to take a break?
If you have a bunch of projects on the go (both work based and personal life based) and you’re trying to manage a handful of scenarios and obligations it is very easy for the work as well as the expectations of others to pile up and overwhelm you unless you get perspective on each individual situation and learn to manage your time more efficiently and effectively.
There are after all only so many hours in the day. In those hours you do have to earn an income but you also have to manage household and personal affairs and find time to sleep and socialise at least occasionally!
By taking a moment out of your day to sit calmly away from the phone, the computer, the doorbell and the kids you can reenergise and refocus yourself so that the actions you then take are deliberate and purposeful and therefore more fulfilling.
It may help you to write yourself a ‘to do’ list at the beginning or end of every day for the forthcoming business day. You can then tick off each task completed and feel good about yourself as those ticks pile up. By using a list you are also able to prioritise certain tasks and bunch other related tasks together so that if you have to go to the bank to deposit money earned you can also pick up the dry cleaning at the same time and save yourself a trip another day for example.
About half way through each and every day you should give yourself a break, focus on what you have achieved already, congratulate yourself for that and then mentally run through the rest of your ‘to do’ list imagining being able to tick off everything in turn. The more focused you then become on achieving your list of goals, the more likely you are to easily cut a swathe through your day.
2) Why is it important to give yourself a break?
Just as it is important to take a physical break and get perspective on your ‘to do’ list, so it is important to be kinder and more supportive of yourself. Have you ever listened consciously to that nagging little inner voice when it starts criticising and undermining you – would you ever dare speak to anyone else the way that voice speaks to you?
‘Don’t do it like that you idiot’
‘Are you stupid or what?’
‘You’ll never manage that’
‘God you look rough today’
Wow – charming aren’t we – charming to ourselves that is. I don’t know about you but I would never dare speak to even my worst enemies the way my inner voice sometimes tries to speak to me!
So, every single day you need to begin spending more time examining how you’re feeling - emotionally speaking. Your behaviour towards yourself should have a positive purpose so stop trying to fight against yourself by undermining your efforts and fighting and resisting! Instead you should listen to yourself and heighten your awareness of yourself.
Again, spend some time during the day outlining what you want to achieve that day and how you will feel when you have achieved it…the more you focus on positive outcomes for your daily tasks the more likely it is you will achieve your tasks positively!
Finally, at the end of each and every day before you rest for the night go over the day’s achievements – no matter how small or insignificant they may seem – and congratulate yourself for every single positive thing ticked off your list and managed that day. The more you encourage yourself the more you will be encouraged to succeed easily and without resistance and the easier you will find it to manage a successful online business and a busy and fulfilling personal life. Well, that’s the theory anyway!
