Episode 126: How to take a break

00:51 Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with a big vision who are ready for a kinder more sustainable approach to productivity. I'm Louise Miller and each week i share bite-sized insights to help you step away from the hustle stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world Before we dive into today's episode, if you enjoy what I'm sharing here on Unfrazzle and you'd like to support the podcast. You can buy me a cuppa by going to BuyMeACoffee.com slash Louise Miller and making a one-off donation. I'll pop a link to that in the show notes Okay grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started

01:30 When we're busy it's not always easy to take a break and so we push through telling ourselves that we don't have time to stop. I can tell you how important it is to press pause until the cows come home, but in the heat of the moment when you are stressed and overwhelmed having someone tell you why you should take a break isn't always that helpful is it? So maybe what you need instead is a list of fun ideas that you can play with Practical suggestions about what taking a break might look like in reality. And I'm not talking about taking a holiday here, I am literally talking about those breaks that we all know would actually help our focus and help our productivity because we're giving our brains the chance to think about something else problem solving in the background, giving our nervous system a chance to settle between all of things were doing in our day So today I'm just going to share with you some ideas how can take a break and I know this might seem a little bit simplistic

02:21 But I hope that it helps you just think, maybe think a bit differently about taking a break. Maybe so you can be a bit more intentional and proactive about it So first idea for you is to enjoy your cuppa in a different place than you usually would. So getting away from any work distractions, getting away from your desk and away from your computer... ...maybe just choosing to sit in a different chair with your cup of tea will switch things up a bit helping your brain realise that it's time for a break Giving you something different to focus on, think about and look at. Maybe you read a few pages of a book or your favourite magazine Or you might just stare out the window for a bit So this is just taking a coffee break or tea break but doing so in a slightly different environment Another thing that you can do is pick an uplifting tune and have a dance Shake it off! Have a little dance around That could be really good to shift your energy especially if you're starting to feel tired If things are stagnating a bit and need some energy going

03:20 Another idea I have for you isn't going to work for everyone but i'm going to share it with you anyway just in case you are in a situation where this would be helpful. For some people when they're taking a break they want a bit of human connection so if you are craving that connection and you happen to be in an office or a co-working space, or somewhere where there are other people around why not arrange to go for a walk round the block with one of your peers? My husband and I do this most lunch times we'll have our lunch and then we'll go out for a walk The other thing you can do with this if you're involving another human being is to make an agreement maybe at the start of the day or the start of the week as to when you're going to take that break together and then that gives you the added bonus of accountability which means you're more likely to follow through. So something else you can do is a quick blast of housework so this one isn't for everyone I know there are some business owners who are very strict about not allowing housework into their working day, and I completely understand that but for me

04:21 I find it helpful sometimes to just do a little bit of housework, to get me away from my desk doing something else. Just mixing things up a bit before i carry on with my work so its about shifting my energy right? Its a conscious choice im not using it as a distraction however You know yourself best and if you have a tendency to use housework as a procrastination tool, and as a way of avoiding tasks that feel uncomfortable or difficult then perhaps exercise caution with this one because you might find yourself losing an entire afternoon reorganising the airing cupboard. But if you know that for you bit like me running around with a hoover for 10 minutes is going to be really good break from your work then that might be something to think about

05:03 You could also give some thought to something fun that you would like to do in your break. So, In the summer, I don't do this so much anymore maybe i need to pick it up again but I used to step outside with my hula hoop in between activities and I'd just go out and just do a minute or two of hula hooping. Then there was a phase where I was learning to juggle but that didn't go so well I gave up! But a couple of minutes of flinging juggling balls around and then chasing them around the house certainly engaged a different part of my brain made me laugh got me moving right? So it's a win-win is there something like that something fun that you could do in your breaks just to get you Using a different part of your brain. Another great thing to do in your break, this one's great if you're feeling particularly frazzled or if you've got a busy day is to meditate right even just 30 seconds or 5 minutes however much time you can spare can make a very big difference and there are loads of apps out there that can help you with that You know there's Headspace, there's Calm I use Insight Timer at the moment Or you could choose to simply sit comfortably close your eyes and focus on your breath

06:07 And the last idea I'm going to share with you, and again for some people this may seem controversial but you could use your break to watch 30 minutes of your favourite fun programme. And i do this in the middle of the afternoon about three o'clock i know i'm gonna have an energy slump! What is the point of me sitting staring at my laptop trying to concentrate when actually my brain's not working properly? So i take myself off and watch a little bit tv And yes, I could use that time to listen to an inspiring podcast or watch a TED talk or read or something. But what i really need by that time in the afternoon is to switch off my brain and be passive for a while so choosing to watch something that makes me laugh for half an hour ticks that box for me! In case you're after some inspiration...I absolutely love watching episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race. I don't want a whole episode because they're long but I'll split that into chunks. You know, watch 20 minutes or so of RuPaul's Drag Race

07:05 I love Parks and Rec. Schitt's Creek is another really good one, obviously we all have our own taste around what makes us smile and you will also have your own rhythm around when you might need that kind of break for you it might not be at three o'clock in the afternoon it could be another time of day but what could that look like for you? If you know that you would find it helpful to take breaks but actually it's really difficult for you, a great tip is to set a reminder on your phone so there's an alarm that's going to go off. Perhaps with the noise that you don't particularly enjoy put your phone on the other side of the room or in a different room so you actually physically have to get up and move to turn that timer off. That can be a really great way to get you up and out of your seat so you might want to play with that

07:47 And just final piece of advice to leave you with here is to try and avoid filling all your breaks with more doing. I know it can be tempting to think Oh, you know there's a bit of life admin that needs to happen. I could just do that in that break but just remember we don't need to be productive all the time it is not good for us and yes i sometimes enjoy doing the washing up when i need a quick break but i also make sure that i sit quietly get out for a walk do something fun just for the sake of it watch a bit of tv all these things are really good for us and they're really good for our productivity So what do you do to help you reset and recharge when you need a break? I'm sure you've got ideas of your own, so why not write your very own list that you can refer to when you need to step away from your desk for a few minutes. Getting into a rhythm with your breaks and what that might look like when you're not feeling overwhelmed or frazzled makes it so much easier to take that time out when you really need it! As always, I hope this helps and I look forward to seeing you again soon

08:45 Thank you for listening to Unfrazzle. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life and I'd love it if you could leave me a rating and review as that will help more people discover this podcast. If you would like to hear more from me to help stop faffing and take back control of your time, you'll find the link to join my mailing list in the show notes and I would really love for you to join us! So thanks so much for your support and I look forward to seeing you next time