Tag Archives: timeout

Taking a time to take a time out

Here’s a cup of chill for your chill pill

Life moves fast. We’re constantly on the go and it is always a steady hustle and bustle. We as a society are busy to the point of it gets stressful to keep firing on all cylinders. One thing that is neglected often is the importance of having time to take off from our busy plates and take the time to recalibrate and rest.

As someone who is a self professed workaholic, i am an advocate of taking some time for a vacation or even a personal day to just unwind from being always “on”. There many benefits to being able to take some time for yourself especially for your career. Taking a personal day/vacation time is important for a healthy work life balance. Once you take some time off from what you have focused so much of your time and energy on you’ll find yourself psychologically refreshed , improved focus, overall better balance between work and life. You will also notice that you’ll have time to catch up on things you might not have had time for when you didn’t before and even time to enjoy things you normally don’t such as a hobby or time with loved ones. You don’t need to have a two week retreat to tahiti necessarily (though if you want to do that I say go for it!). Even if you take a personal day per month or a leave for specific purposes like our friends in the uk. You will be able to find a better balance and it will help you in your longevity and satisfaction in your career.

The workforce is changing and according to a study the work day has lengthened and people are taking less breaks making it harder to find balance. Did you know in 2018 768 million vacation days were left unused? That is a lot of unused pto that is lost if it’s not rolled over or cashed out. Some occupations lack paid time off which forces workers to miss pay if they are not present. We know making money is important but we are human and we have other obligations outside of our career such as family, friends, hobbies and interest and our own sanity. Our constantly bustling culture is making us lose our sense of self and lose sight of things we enjoy. If left unchecked there are consequences from our health, relationships and overall career satisfaction and performance (burnout, health issues, poor performance etc)

Taking time off is an often neglected part of our busybody culture. We need to place more emphasis on taking time to step away to refocus and recalibrate for the sake of longevity and satisfaction in terms of one’s career. For those that do not offer pto i encourage a way to find a way to make them happen and for those that do not take a personal day or vacation to take one. It will do wonders for you. Until the next time my friends excelsior!

Taking a chill pill

8tracks radio | Take a chill pill! (25 songs) | free and music ...

We live in a rather stressful and uncertain time. There are a lot of things happening during this trying time in everyone’s life now. Here in the good old U S of A we are used to the hustle and bustle of daily life but now everything is on a pause. Now is an opportune time to talk about something that is never really taken seriously, rest, and taking a moment to slow down.

Right now many things have been put on pause: visits to your favorite pub, café or restaurant, going to get your reps at the gym (see my previous post on no gym fitness), and even seeing loved ones. There is some good to be found during this time of uncertainty. People are getting creative in terms of cooking abilities, video parties with friends, and even finding ways to still stay in shape. It’s also important to use this time to spend it with our loved ones (even if you have to facetime or conference call them) and also take a moment to rest and take a moment to just recalibrate for when things go back to normal.

Our society has been defined by consistently being on the move. We’re running to meetings, conference calls, fundraisers, recitals, work, you name it. We never take the time anymore to stop and enjoy the smell of the flowers or the warmth of the sun. We see it and know it’s there but do not actually bask in it to truly appreciate it. Our constant hustle and shuffle keeps us from our things that matter most to us (you know what those are), enjoying small moments in life that we take for granted (like breathing clean air, the taste of the morning coffee you chug down without taking a moment to enjoy the smell and taste of it, or the feeling of the wind in your hair…or scalp. We’re always busy or busy bragging to the point where the word busy has become trite and bland.

During this time connect with your loved ones. Call up your grade school pals, learn how to perfect your homemade bread recipe, enjoy the taste of your favorite dessert and the sensation of the wind in your face if you go sailing/biking (since we can do that now in Michigan). Enjoy the moment to turn this lemon into lemonade. Take the time out to take the time and enjoy it as best you can.

During this time of uncertainty, take a moment to take a breath and make this rough period of time to recalibrate and enjoy the finer details of life and use the extra time to get creative and even learn new things. Let’s come out of this quarantine and period of uncertainty smarter, stronger, have more expanded skills, and become more cognizant of the need to take a moment to breathe.  Until the next time my friends, stay safe and healthy and Excelsior.