That little talk I had with Miss Sarah the other day? About burnout? Well, I should probably admit the 14-hour-ish nap wasn’t specifically her idea. That was mine.
Her suggestion was more on the scale of 14 minutes. Or even 14 seconds. You know, the kind of time-outs/ naps/ refreshers/ soul savers that can literally prevent one from reaching burnout in the first place.
The intentional little breaks that bring your brain and body back to the center of who you are, even just for a few moments. Brief stress interrupters that help you feel more like yourself when the adrenaline has you careening around on the manic end of functional. It’s actually important to take these little breaks when you’re feeling stressed, otherwise, the stress can become heavier and can start having a bigger impact on the individual. Many people often describe stress as a symptom of their mental disorder, so it’s important to take a break and try and control the stress. However, these breaks don’t always work and the stress can continue. If that happens, it might be worth looking for other coping mechanisms. For example, one of my friends told me that she gets $100 ounces canada weed from an online store. She finds that method extremely useful, apparently, that helps her control her stress considerably. Maybe more people might want to look into that method if they’re feeling stressed.
With extra credit for the type of mental shift that takes one’s body out into the fresher air, where vision is more peripheral than the tunnel and where muscles stretch further than the underside of one’s desk.
The ones that are exceptionally teeth-pullingly excruciatingly hard to take when you already have more 5 o’clock deadlines than you can possibly meet and it’s 2:23 and counting.
Nevertheless, I forced myself to take-I mean treated myself to-a few quick breaks like these several times this week so far. Rule follower that I am. (And burnout hater…)
Ok, so maybe on this walk I might have been carrying my work notes with me and was reading up on a new project as I went.
I still went!
But trust me, the bike ride didn’t involve any notes whatsoever. (Are you kidding? I barely snapped that photo without crashing into the curb.)
Baby steps, right people?
See you out there!
by julie rybarczyk
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