Take a Real Break — Donna Hopkins

Really good advice from Awaken Joy by Barbara Heffernan for those times when I am overwhelmed and overloaded. Take a real break.

This is the tool people most resist. When you are overwhelmed and overloaded, taking an hour away from everything feels like the last thing you should be doing. It is not.

Stress makes the brain single-minded. It activates only a narrow band of what is available to us, and it is exactly the wrong state for problem-solving. Solving problems requires the whole brain working — memory, intuition, emotional processing, and rational thinking all integrating together. A real break is what brings the whole brain back online.

The break needs to be a genuine one: a walk in nature, playing an instrument, time spent doing something that is actually fun and feeds your soul. Scrolling on your phone or watching television does not produce the same effect. Consider this both permission and a gentle instruction. Go for a swim. Go for a walk. Listen to music. Take whatever kind of break genuinely restores you. When you return to the work, you will be more productive and better able to tackle what is on your list — not despite having taken the break, but because of it.