Why You Need to Take A “time out”

We all have a lot of things we need to do and take care of. Whether it is taking care of our family, work, school, or doing other activities, there are always things that consume a lot of our attention throughout the day. Some people have convinced themselves they are wasting time if they are relaxing or enjoying down time and taking a break from their to do list. If they are not moving through the day and completing one task after another, some people will feel they have not done everything they should have in order to productively get through the day.

The alternaview:

The alternaview is that just because you are not doing things off of your to do list does not by any means you are wasting time. Everyone needs a time out to relax and just have moments of uninterrupted freedom. If we have convinced ourselves that we just don’t have the time to stop, we have really sold ourselves something that is just not true. It is all about making the time. because these periods of down time can be one of the most beneficial things we can do to help us increase our productivity.

I was working on this project with a team of colleagues and we needed to set up a time for a conference call. We were all discussing potential times for this call to happen and one of my colleagues explained the call would need to be after 8:00 AM because she had to go for a bike ride in the morning. Now, I must admit, I was taken a little aback at first and assumed that was nothing short of career suicide. I was wondering how someone could openly admit to her colleagues that she was not prioritizing work over a leisurely bike ride. I realized that my colleague was not out of her mind for admitting this, but rather that I was on my way to being out of my mind because I had not yet subscribed to this time out theory.

Time outs will honestly have a tremendous impact on your productivity (yada yada yada…I used to block people out when they would say this and assume it was just their excuse for being a slacker…little did I know). It really is one of the most important daily routines to do with countless benefits…increased productivity, clarity, energy, focus, feeling more grounded, less hurried…the list goes on.

When you genuinely want to integrate this alternaview into life:

You should identify what your ideal “time out” is. There are all sorts of ways to relax and refresh, whether it is riding your bike, exercising, reading a book, meditating, doing yoga…you have to find what works for you. Make a concerted effort to really understand this and try out different things. Some good posts I have come across recently…( Happiness Challenge #1: 100 Breaths , Get Less Done: Stop Being Productive and Enjoy Yourself).

Also, and most importantly, don’t make excuses…just make the time. The reality is that we all can convince ourselves we are too busy to stop and take a moment. However, you need to have the discipline and commitment to include this time in your every day routine, even if it is only 15 – 20 minutes. If you can just schedule this time in your day and make yourself do it for two weeks, it will become one of the best habits you ever developed.

It is so important to step back and take a look at your life from time to time and determine those things you can either add or subtract that will allow you to accomplish what you want to and also put you in a better frame of mind where you are really able to enjoy things in life. You may not ever have all of the time you think you need, but you will always be able to determine what you prioritize from day to day, and giving yourself these moments should be at the top of the list…this is the alternaview.

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