Hey there! How’s life been treating you? For me, it’s been a little crazy busy! I’ve added Financial Advisor to my multi-hyphen career, so I needed to amp up my focus and time management skills to get things done excellently. One thing I realized though is the busier you get, the more you need brain breaks.
It may seem counterintuitive to take breaks when you get so much stuff to do, but breaks are important to keep you focused and sane. These breaks allow you to take a time-out, which ultimately helps you manage the stress and come up with fresh ideas.
I’ve written about 10 ways to take 10-minute breaks a while back, and I thought I can add 5 more to that list:
In this post:
1. Body Scan Meditation
Deep breathing and focusing and bringing awareness to each part of your body are great ways to take focus away from our minds, allowing us to reset. There are a lot of guides on meditation apps (I personally use Insight Timer). You can also use YouTube.
2. Laughter Yoga
One of the easiest and surest ways to ease tension and relieve stress is through laughter. As they say, laughter is the best medicine. Laughing provides distraction, improves your mood, decreases stress hormones, increases your happy hormones, and many more.
There are also a lot of resources on laughter yoga on the web. Here’s one:
3. Play Online Card Games
Call me old school, but my choice of online games is simple and uncomplicated. Remember Solitaire? Yep, that kind.
I found this website, solitaire.org, that primarily focuses on solitaire games, including a lot of versions. My personal favorites are the Spider and Pyramid. These are nostalgic for me, and pretty much give me the mental break that I need.
The site also offers other collections of games, including card games, mahjong games, and other fun online games like Pacman etc. Go check it out. 🙂
4. Get artistic
I also like exercising my creative muscles. Doodling helps. Sometimes, I open Canva and work on my content as well. When I feel like it, I pick up my watercolor materials. I’m not good at it (haha!), but it’s a good activity to take my mind off the busyness of the workload for a while.
5. Favorite Activities
Last but certainly not least, I take time to engage in my favorite activities for a bit. It can be listening to music, catching up with family and friends, cooking/baking, etc.
Even when you work from home, the pressures and stresses of work remain. As freelancers, we need to manage our stress, take care of our mental health, and maintain a work-life balance. Taking breaks go a long way, whether it’s a short brain break, a mental health day off, or a longer vacation break.
Don’t forget to take breaks, fellow freelancer!
