Today was a really weird day. It wasn’t that weird things were happening it was just weird because… I had a day off.

Today I had a full day off where I didn’t have to travel anywhere or go into the office or meet with anyone.

WEIRD!

It’s been almost two years since that happened. And I’m loving it.

I know all of you balanced holistic types out there. You’re already…. oops just had to grab my grand daughter before she fell off the hearth onto her head. Sorry… let’s try that again.

You already know the importance of taking time off to renew and revive. I do too. I just don’t usually get a full day off when I’m at home. And I’m not sure that the whole day off thing is always that important. What is important is that you get time to slow down and relax.

If you work seven days a week, you are going to break down. You need sometime when you unwind. You may not get a whole day in a week but if you plan your schedule right, you’ll get the time you need.

Try some of these ideas to get the break you need:

• Divide your day into three segments
  Everyday has a morning, afternoon and evening. Instead of trying to take a full day off, why don’t you work on taking 4 or 5 segments off a week. A pastor friend of mine put me on to this several years ago and I found that in certain cycles of life this works great. You want to be careful that you make sure some of the free segments of your week allow you to spend time with your family and get a break.
• Insist on your vacation time
  Great employers will make sure that their employees take holidays, but unfortunately we don’t all work for GREAT employers. Some of us work for ourselves. You need to take your vacation time. Go somewhere or don’t go anywhere at all. Do something different. Relax. Take a break. You deserve it.
• Don’t take work home
  Of course if you work from home this is going to be much more difficult. The key is to keep work in your workspace and nowhere else. You don’t get a break if you can work anywhere and you do.
• Take mini-vacations
  Skip work for an afternoon. Don’t come in one morning. I realize not everyone has the flexibility to do that but if you do… then do it! One of my most enjoyable days this past summer was a trip to the immigration office to get my daughter her visa for school. We left early in the morning and took time to stop along the way. We stopped at this great bakery only 20 minutes from our apartment, then we stopped at every fruit-stand that caught our attention. Around lunch time we found this fabulous little mexican restaurant that we still talk about. We had a great mini-vacation. And you can too.

• Make the most of your “moments”
  My son just stopped by to pick up his daughter (14months) that I’ve been babysitting for the past couple of hours. I couldn’t get my posting done or much else. How wonderful! Holding her on my lap and laughing together helps create the break that I need. Living in the present rather than the past (or the future for that matter) will ease the burden of life. Enjoy it.

So how do you get a break? Share your secret with the rest of us. I know I could use another break. Let’s Talk!