We live in a world that is go-go-go 24×7x365. I can’t seem to get unconnected, something is always happening, something is always interrupting. Everything seems urgent. Things always seem to be stressful, there is always something to worry about. My focus plan has things that will keep me busy well into the early morning hours every day. Instead of adding more items to the checklist and worrying about more things we have no control over, we need to take a deep breath, relax, and take just 5 minutes each day disconnected to get perspective. When was the last time you took a time-out (other than sleep) away from the chaotic workplace to gain perspective and clear your mind for 5 minutes not with music/noise, but quietly with no interruptions? I want to encourage you to do it. It’s totally counterintuitive to set aside time not to do work in order to do more work. It works for me and I think it’ll work for you.
I have a Windows machine at work and it seems almost everyday that eventually my computer slows to a crawl because of memory leaks or whatever. The only way I can get it to work faster again is to reboot. You’ve done it many times. After rebooting, the computer seems to be working at a fast speed again. I think the same thing happens with us, we need to recharge even briefly to “reboot” and de-stress. The 21st century has got us so connected that we can never get away, it is very hard to take even 5 minutes away from everything, let alone in peace and quiet. I’m willing to bet that if you were to take 5 minutes alone, it would feel like hours. You just aren’t used to it, I’m still not used to it. Some of you will argue that you can’t even take 5 minutes off. I’ll argue that not only can you take 5 minutes, but you’ll be more productive than if you didn’t.
When I first started to take 5 minutes, it seemed useless because my mind only raced with what to do and what I needed to accomplish. I try to take 5 minutes each day to just relax, not think about work for a moment, get un-stressed, take a step back, be unreachable. I’m not taking a nap, I think you need to be fully awake and reflect. Some might choose to take the time to meditate, pray, breathe deeply, relax, clear their mind. What you do is up to you, but the important thing is to make that time a priority in your schedule. Perhaps do it at the beginning of your day or in the middle of your day.
I think the nice side-effect of taking the time to breathe is that you are able to control your workday rather than letting the workday control you. I’ve mentioned this before in my blog that allowing urgent things to control your day, you end up accomplishing nothing that is important. By taking the 5 minutes, I think you’re much more capable of seeing those important things that you should be focused on and not getting bogged down by the urgent issues of that day. There will always be urgent issues to keep you busy, breathe… reboot.
Don’t wait until your next vacation. Are you taking 5 minutes each day to breathe? I hope so.
Silence of the mind i.e., “The Break.”
Yes, for the past few months I havent done that.
But may be I have to visit garden/smell flower/watch birds.
May be this weekend.
Thanks for the post.
Cool - do it!
We’ve actually been taking part in a ‘Stress to Success’ Yoga Therapy 7-week session at TeachStreet HQ with one of most popular teachers (Soleil Hepner) and she’s been working with us on the exact same principles — I’ll let you know how it goes, but I always need this reminder!
Dave - thanks for your comment. If it works out, we should get her over to BTV;)
Excellent post. This is the balance that everyone needs (although some won’t admit it). You can only go 110 MPH for so long before you hit a speedbump and crash.
I take time every day to stop, close my eyes, and pray. It’s amazing the lift this gives me to not only be more productive during my day but also enjoy my day more.
Totally agree!
It’s amazing what just taking a couple minutes everyday for yourself can do. I find that if I am feeling overwhelmed, or stressed out, just taking 5 to recenter and refocus works wonders.
Matt
I find that taking a power nap helps me a lot. I usually take a 10-15 min nap right after lunch, when I’m digesting. I have to fall asleep to stop thinking about stuff.
I once heard Deepak Chopra recommend that you take 20 minutes a day to sit and be quite, relax, and reflect. It really resonated with me and I gave it a good faith effort. It lasted exactly 2 days. It’s really hard to find a place where you can have 20 minutes to yourself. Maybe I’ll give it another go but start with your suggestion of 5 minutes and work my way up to 20.
Good post.
Thanks for the comment - starting slow is a good idea!
Great reminder Andy!
Consider the story about the man chopping wood. He needs enough for a long hard winter. So he keeps chopping and chopping, never stopping - with an axe that just gets duller and duller - making the task last longer and longer.
Taking 5 minutes to ’sharpen your axe’ brings ease to the task at hand!
Good analogy.
Over the last 2+ months I’ve been working full days without a break, however today I met a buddy for lunch and did a bit of shopping… I can back a different person eager to get cracking on with some work.
Did me wonders.
Very interesting post, Andy, I enjoyed it. You are right. John Reese once released a free video called “Reboot your Brain” and it was similar to the point you raised. Your recommendation of 5 minutes might seem too short for lots of people, but hey - every minute of our time is booked already so it will be hard for most people to give it the 20 minutes that Deepak Chopra suggested. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
I usually take about 30 minutes in the morning to exercise and this tends to be my “break.” I find that I think a lot while I’m toiling away running or rowing, and it helps me reflect on the previous day as well as get my thoughts organized for the coming day. Exercise doesn’t seem like multi-tasking, but when a lot of your job takes place in your head, these breaks help a lot.
Thanks for the reminder, taking the time to exercise and keep physically in shape is very important. If you can’t take care of your body, what’s the point?
Well said. I try this several times of the day to refocus myself. Here is a nice video of my buddy Dhrumil teaching people to fall still.
This is a great reminder. I especially like the comment about having more control of your work day. Part of being an entrepreneur, in my opinion, is having more control (of your life, your ventures, and whatnot).
The important thing to remember when taking a break is to make sure that you break free from thinking about work, or things that you need to get done. At my office a bunch of people go play basketball during the middle of the work day at the gym at least twice per week. I think that exercising is a good way to clear your mind and forget about work. And something about getting the blood pumping and the oxygen flowing stimulates your mind and your energy levels. This puts you back at work with a fresh body and mind.
Totally agree. We have a basketball team at work as well, good teamwork and physical exercise.
Our computers do that all the time and it gets rebooted like twice a day, then it is back to normal. That makes a lot of sense. When you are inspired it is very difficult to take a minute away from your work becuase you dont even realize that the whole day has gone by and you havent even ate anything. Not saying that is a bad thing, but you should place time in the day that you step away and get a perspective. Most of the time it will help you be more productive.
It is sad to see people throwing away the things that have real value like family, friends and relationship.
They throw it away to make that buck to keep the car or house they bought, which they can’t afford because someone told them they needed it. so now they have become a slave to the house, bank, job and money
Tom - thanks for your comment. Prioritizing those things in life that are most important is very difficult in our society. It is a sad commentary if all that drives us is our passion for material wealth and we lose our identity. Check out my post on giving, I think it is one of the best ways to help us prioritize that which is important.
I will check out the post you recomended.
I don’t think its just prioritizing but also having common sense.
I was commenting on another blog today about debt to income ratio. And I wonder why people that make say 50K, or 100K household, buy 30K cars and 300K+ houses.
What are they doing to do when shit happens? Live on the street?
Congratulations, because everyone did it, you did it too, with no common sense.
So if everyone said jump, you would do it too.
Taking 5 minutes and trying not to do anything would make me fall asleep!
I’m curious why we can’t comment on the newest article? I was just going to comment:
Seeing stories like this can always keep us optimistic. When we’re feeling like we’ve hit bottom, we should always realize that someone has it worse, and if someone else has it worse, what do we have to complain about…really?
I take breaks throughout the day just to rest my eyes, rest my mind. I work from home so sometimes I load the dishwasher, vacuum the carpet, do some home stuff that doesn’t require any thinking but gets me moving. I find that after a reboot, my brain has the opportunity to approach problems from a different perspective (or at least not having been burdened by the fatigue of facing that problem for hours).
I recommend not eating lunch at your desk. For the last year I have brown bagged my lunch so I can enjoy the savings elsewhere, but in the last month I took advantage of getting away from my desk and going outside. I find it very relaxing to just sit back on green grass and enjoy a bright sunny day. Ok I am in Arizona for those suffering the big chill. But I see so many people get thier lunch and keep working and I wa caught in that loop but now realize I am not paid to work through lunch so why should I not find a way to improve myself during that hour.
Oh and I recommend an MP3 player with music, no audio books. It helps to get your mind off work.
I would like to add my tips here
Its so nice if you decide to take a breath especially when you had bad or busy days. Sometimes its works if you walk alone in the street or sitting in the park alone, it just gives you a relief to every problem you are getting into.
Thanks for the reminder Andy! I’ve been taking small time outs for the past few months and it works wonders. I find being deliberate about it helps - I turn off my phone, take off my watch, put my laptop to sleep and leave them in the office, then head outside! Physically leaving things behind is a great mental release…!