Taking a Break

I’m currently 5 days into a week away. This is my first beach holiday since 2015 and has been exactly what I needed. I normally opt for city breaks over the beach (largely due to my lack of tanning ability!) but these can often leave you coming back more tired than refreshed. So this week was long overdue and has been a chance to completely relax, enjoy some sun, read, eat and drink at leisure.

Taking time for yourself doesn’t have to be reserved for holidays or spa breaks though there’s plenty of ways you can make time for you everyday and plenty of benefits for doing so. Just taking out 30 minutes a day to spend some time on yourself away from people and work makes all the difference to your mental health, you could:

• Go for a walk on your lunch break
• Read a book or watch your favourite film
• Take a long bath
• Go for a coffee
• Sit and read the papers in peace
• Exercise
• Practice Yoga
• Just sit and do nothing
• Paint your nails or put on a face mask

Doing this can have numerous benefits;

• Greater well being – doing something for you will make you feel happier, less stressed and more positive towards yourself
• Improve work life balance – taking time away from work can reduce potential for burnout and make you happier within your work
• Allow for self reflection – spending time alone can allow you time to reflect on your own thoughts and emotions
• Improve concentration – taking a break allows you to come back more focused than you were before
• Improve productivity – taking time out can actually mean you get more done after due to feeling rested, more focused and positive
• Reduce stress and unwind – taking time out will almost always make you feel better, put things in perspective and leave you feeling more relaxed.

With that I’m off to enjoy the last couple of days of my holiday, and there will be less of a break between now and the next one this time!