We all know the importance of taking a break from work. But for some reason, we never take it seriously.

It was only when our health is in jeopardy that we start to realize how important it is to take a break.

Even if we know how important it is, it’s hard to take a break when the deadline is looming around the corner.

A break is more like a luxury to many of us.

Taking a break even for a few minutes will only derail your plan for the day. You feel that it will take longer for you to finish your work if you take a break.

Sound familiar?

If this is how you feel about taking a break from work, you’re not alone.

Even I also have this notion that taking a break from work even for a few minutes feels more like a hindrance, especially when I want to get things done as quickly as possible.

Well, guess what?

Your mind and body deserve a break even if it’s only for a few minutes.

Why taking a break from work is important as an author

Yes, I get that we’re all busy people. We just don’t have the time to rest when we’re all pressed for the deadline.

But here’s the thing about our mind and body.

We can only have more energy to do the things that we want to do when we have enough rest.

Experiencing writer’s block?

Sometimes the simplest remedy you can do to get yourself out of the funk is to simply take a break.

Keep in mind that we tend to get our best idea and be in our creative flow when we feel relaxed.

It’s because of this reason that taking a break from work is crucial, especially when the livelihood of our creativity depends on it.

Okay, some of you will say that there’s no such thing as writer’s block. It’s more like a myth among the writer.

But whether you believe that writer’s block exists or not, we all experience the time when our writing isn’t as crisp as we would hope for.

Pretty much all the things that we write just don’t sound right no matter what we do.

Guess what?

Taking a break for a while solves that issue.

If you’re currently working on a book, blog post, or article, get the rest you need and come back to work on your project.

The work that you produce when you get ample rest is way much better than the one that you produced when you’re tired.

How you can take a break from work without feeling guilty

When we talk about taking a break, we tend to think that it has to be for a few days or so.

Good for you if you have the luxury to take a few days, weeks, months, and even a year off from your work.

But you don’t need to take a break that long if taking a long break isn’t an option for you. Even a few minutes to hours of break can do wonders for you.

That’s what I notice when I take a few days off from my work. I notice that I don’t need to take a few days off when a day off would suffice.

Of course, I do take a long break once in a while. But for the most part, I don’t need to take a long break just to reset my focus which puts me in a better mood.

If you’re thinking about taking a break but you can’t afford to take a long break, taking a short break is just as impactful as the long one.

What you can do during the short break

Okay, it’s great to know that we don’t need to take a long break to reap the benefit.

But what are the things we can do during the short break?

Well, there are plenty of things you can do around that time.

You can take a power nap which is a good way to replenish your energy and put you in a much better mental state than before.

Having nice weather outside? Use this opportunity to take a walk by yourself. Immerse yourself in nature if you happen to live near a park or forest.

Prefer to do things that don’t require you to leave the place and can be done within a few minutes?

If you have the knack for being able to sit still for a few minutes, then doing meditation doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

You can say that pretty much any activities that take you away from your workspace will do.

Heck, even opening the Amazon boxes that just arrived at your doorstep will do too.

The only thing that you should steer clear of no matter what is to check your social media, watch YouTube videos, and even TikTok.

Those things are known for being a time suck and productivity stealer. And they can put you in a foul mood too if you’re not careful.

Of course, you can indulge yourself with those things when you already finish your work. Until then, those things are off-limit during your break.

What you should do if you want to take a long break instead

I’m sure that you already hear this sort of story a lot where people are taking a few weeks and even months off from their work.

Sure, it’s great to see that they can afford to take a long break. But how is it possible for them to do this kind of thing without experiencing the all-hell-break-loose moment in their business?

Believe it or not, it all boils down to having proper planning.

Do all these and you no longer have to worry about the nitty-gritty of your work anymore.

Just to let you know that these are the things that I do whenever I’m planning to take a longer break than I normally would.

Set the date when you want to take a break

It’s a lot easier to come up with a plan when you already know when you’ll be taking a break.

Just be sure to set the date a few days or a few weeks in advance. That will give you the time you need to take care of all the things you have to do before you go on a break.

And it will motivate you to work harder to finish off all the tasks too.

Can’t you just decide to take a long break at a spur moment?

Yes, you can, of course. But don’t come crying when you can’t stop thinking about the work that you left behind.

Identify all the things you need to complete before you take a time off

List all the things that you need to get done before you’re off for your break.

Have specific tasks that you have to do daily? List them down too.

Identifying all the things you need to do beforehand will make the next step so much easier.

Come up with a plan on how to accomplish those tasks

This is the bread and butter of this whole process.

Once you already identified all the things you need to do, break them down into a few tasks that you need to do daily until D-day comes.

Just be sure that the things that you need to do according to your daily plan are reasonable. You don’t want to feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks you have to do before your long break.

If it’s still too much for you to take, give yourself a bit of space to revise the plan.

There’s nothing wrong with revising your plan if it can help you with ticking off all the tasks you need to do before you go on a break.

I’m still working on it

Some of you may think that I must be a master at taking a break. But the truth is I still have a hard time allowing myself to take a break once in a while.

Okay, I admit that I’m taking a lot more breaks now than I usually do back then. But it’s still hard to convince me that I need the break and that I can still achieve the goals for this year even with a few breaks in between.

Remember that taking a break is essential if you want to be an author for the long haul. You won’t be able to last long if you experience burnout along the way.

So, don’t feel guilty to take a break whenever you need one.

Your body and mind will thank you for it.

P.S. Social media seems to condition our minds that we need to be there all the time. And it’s even more so with Twitter due to its fast-paced nature.

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