Utilizing Your Breaks and Lunches

We’re going to talk about something that can help us at work, in the moment, detach from work related stress. This is something that everybody can do and guess what, it’s free! Take your breaks and lunches! Like actually use them in a meaningful, purposeful way. Simple right? I can only imaging how many of us actually put this into practice, myself included. I’m super guilty of this. Very rarely do I take an actual lunch or break free of work related tasks and talk. I’m not sure of the specific statistic but I’m going to bet that it’s safe to say many of us use our breaks and lunches doing things like talking to co-workers (who remind us of work), complaining about work (and who we work for) to anyone that will listen, or increasing work related stress levels by doing things like checking social media and the latest gossip blogs. That is, providing we’re mindful enough to take a real break or lunch in the first place.

Breaks and lunches are important at work because we need to detach. We need to get up and stretch those muscles that have been sitting for 4-hours straight and rest those eyes that are glazed and burning from staring at the computer screens all morning. They’re also essential for preventing burnout (we’re going to discuss and come up with burnout plans in a future post) and a good way to break the routine of reinforcing work stress. I learned rather quickly about reinforcing work stress because of the type of job that I have. Supporting people with developmental disabilities who sometimes express their needs through assaultive behaviors is not necessarily a difficult job, but can be stressful. A couple of years back, I found myself in a situation with someone I was supporting who cursed me all the way out, called me every name he could think of, and then came at me with a rake. Needless to say, it was overwhelming to go through something like that, come back to the office to talk about the incident with your boss, go home and write a report on it, discuss it with your co-workers in a weekly meeting, followed by detailing it in again in a monthly report, and finally sharing it with your family and friends. By the time it’s all done, you’ve relived a stressful moment 6 times! We have got to stop that. No more! I’ve learned since then to let things go and set boundaries with co-workers when I’ve moved on. Also, I’ve learned not to discuss work with family and friends, especially when it’s hard for them to understand exactly what is is I do.

So now we’re going to take our breaks and lunches. All of them! If you get two 10’s and a half, then you take two 10’s and a full 30-minute break to yourself. I know many of us enjoy talking to our good girl friends about the latest episode of Scandal and how we’re all sick of Olivia and Fitz, and I don’t want to take that away from you if sharing the latest episode of trash T.V. is how you detach, but also set those boundaries wit your co-workers. Coming up with script is helpful for those co-workers who do impose work talk during a time that is meant to BREAK away from work. “I’m sorry, I’m on break at the moment. Let me get back to you in 10 minutes”, is a good, assertive way to let people know, “not right now girl”. In fact, I wouldn’t talk about work with co-workers at all during non-work times, if at all possible. Doing so is cyclical and before you know it, you’ve spent 30 minutes going back and forth about work. Set a timer to make sure that you don’t find yourself casually making your way back to your desk before your time is up. Get rid of the devices that facilitate work. I faithfully carry two cell phones at all times, and keeping track of them is work in its self. Avoid social media if it relates back to work or exacerbates your stress levels. I give myself breaks from reading about the foolishness of the current President and his administration and as aware as I try to stay on what’s going on around me, I often pause from the latest injustice or  victim(s) of police brutality. I worked at a call center many years back in the middle of the sticks and it was a waste of time to leave the building since there wasn’t really anything near by and the company allowed us to take breaks and lunches at our cubicles (not a good idea). They trend of creating “break” signs to hang over our partitions (a really good idea) quickly took off and became a way to communicate to others that you were taking a much needed break.

How about doing something you really enjoy while on break, something that makes you smile or causes positive emotions. Remember we wan’t to decrease the stress! Go for a walk! Every so often, I’ll get up from my desk, walk right out the front door of the office and walk around the complex. Take advantage of that time to check Grindr, or Tinder, or whatever platform of on-line dating you use (no judgment here). Read a book or magazine! Do people still read books and magazines? Read the latest posts of The Wearied Traveler (I’d love to talk to you!). Listen to a track or two from your favorite Spotify playlist (shout out to Spotify). I’m listening to Acoustic Summer as I type this post! Try meditation! If you’re like me and are unfamiliar with the practices of meditation, try a guided meditation which you can also find on Spotify. They’re perfect for calm and relaxation and are short enough for you to enjoy on a break. Play a game! Breaks and lunches are a perfect opportunity to open those apps and evoke a competitive spirit… unleash a can of whoop ass on some random person online (work that stress out!). One of my favorite ways to escape for the woes of work is to look at the current travel deals. I know it seems odd to do so when the intent and money (quite frankly) do not exist for me to actually fly to the Philippines for a couple of weeks. But what I’ve found, is that actually just looking and reading about it puts me in a positive mood. It gets me to daydreaming and feeling like I’m actually there and what the experience would actually feel like and before you know it; I’m on vacation in the South Pacific on some random island sipping some fruity, tropical beverage with the sand in between my toes and the warmth of the sun on my skin, instead of staring at the white walls of the office. Do whatever, just make sure you taking away the stress not add to it.

I hope you’ve found some of these ideas helpful. We should do this and take it seriously. We should take break pledges and commit to doing a little self-care on our breaks and lunches.

I’d love to hear what you do to relax and unwind doing your downtime or anything ideas you have!