My heart is racing.
My pupils are dilated.
My body is tense, ready to pounce.
And the moment my husband says something I decipher as remotely snarky, I tear him apart!
That’s when I know I’m way overdue for a mental break.
But why let yourself get to this heightened stress level?
Everyone needs a break on a regular basis. I’m not talking about a vacation twice a year, but a break every few hours in your daily life. In fact, according to studies and lots of smart productivity people, you can only focus for a maximum of 90 minutes, so a short break every 1-1.5 hours would be ideal.
That’s easier said than done when you have toddlers running amok around you. Finding time for breaks in a busy workplace is child’s play when it comes to finding time in a busy home.
Luckily I’m a ‘short break’ champ. This is how I find time in my busy day at home:
What is a mental break?
First, let’s define mental break.
A mental break is a period of time that you take away from work or other responsibilities to relax and rejuvenate your mind.
Taking a mental break doesn’t mean switching to a different chore, replying your emails or scrolling your social media feed instead of working. At its best, that’s called multi-tasking. At worse, that’s distraction.
Why are mental breaks important?
Taking a mental break can help you relieve stress, reduce anxiety, improve your focus and concentration, increase creativity and inspiration, reduce fatigue and exhaustion, boost energy levels, improve sleep quality, reduce boredom or monotony.
It can also provide an opportunity for self-reflection or personal growth but becareful you don’t use your break time to plan instead. That’s an actual ‘work activity’ for your brain, not a mental break.
How long is a good mental break?
According to ultraradian theory, it takes our brains about 15-20 minutes to recover. Therefore, ideally aim for that. In real life, it depends on how much time you have for a break and how much time you personally need to recover.
My advice? Take whatever time you can get rather than wait for a block of time that may never come.
I find that if you really take a mental break, i.e, do a meditative-like activity like meditation, deep breathing, be in the moment in nature etc., even a 5-minute break can do wonders.
Finding the time to take mental breaks when you’re busy
I have 2 toddlers who never sit still. I know there is ‘no time for breaks’ when you’re home with the kids. But there is, if you know where to look.
Have a break when the kids are eating
Whenever they are eating a snack, or having their meals, try not to take this time to catch up on chores. Instead, use it to take a break. You can either join them for a family meal time, or take a time-out with a cup of coffee.
Put them in front of the TV
Judge me if you want but even though most parents don’t admit it openly, most kids probably watch more TV than they should.
In my house, the TV gets turned on for 15-30 minutes every 2-3 hours when I need a break from the kids. Sometimes I use this time for chores, or to reply emails. Sometimes I make myself a cup of tea and look out the window.
Bliss!
Rest when they rest
When my kids were younger, their afternoon nap time was my zone out time. I looked forward to those 1-2 hours in the afternoon so much! When they dropped their afternoon nap, I actually thought of running away (or sending them to daycare full time).
I’ve since found a better solution. I call it quiet time. We all lie on my Queen-sized bed for a while. Sometimes that can be for 15 minutes, sometimes 5, depending on how much sugar they’ve had.
Recruit the kids
When I do my daily meditation, I invite my kids to join me. My 4-year old often does, in her own way. It’s still a bit too much for my 2-year old but he does the next best thing. He sits on my lap and looks at me.
If you have older kids, teach them meditation or yoga. It can be a regular mommy-daughter-son thingy.
Rest while waiting
You know those few minutes here and there throughout the day when you’re waiting? Whether you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, for your child to get off the potty, or for the bus, that’s precious time you can take to do some mindfulness exercises or even a few squats.
Why not?
Take play as rest
When your kids are playing, join them sometimes. It’s fun! You have an excuse to be a child again and the physical activity and laughter always makes you feel rejuvenated after.
Change your perspective
Sometimes maybe your brain is the one that needs changing. Hubby has this habit of thinking and feeling he’s busy. Even when he has the day off at home without the kids, he doesn’t feel relaxed because he feels there is so much waiting for him to do.
I, on the other hand, have mastered the art of mini-breaks.
Morning ‘get ready’ time is rest.
My 1-hour trips to and from work is rest.
I rest when I sit at my daughter’s door waiting for her to go to sleep.
I even feel rested when I get the chance to cook without interruptions!
How can I stay productive while taking a mental break?
That’s a great question.
But the wrong one to ask.
If you’re thinking of how you can squeeze in some planning or tick a few more things off your checklist when you’re ‘resting’, you’re not really taking a break are you?
By virtue of taking a mental break, you’re already increasing your productivity. Most people go back to whatever they were doing re-energized and much more productive once they’ve had a rest.
Recognize that time spent recharging, replenishing, and restoring your energy counts as productive time. Give yourself permission to relax. Don’t feel guilty about taking a break.
To do nothing is not laziness. It’s a productive pause that allows you to reboot your brain so you can unwind and focus on what needs to be done later on down the line when you’re ready for it again!
Don’t be afraid of pausing when needed, whether it’s for a few minutes or an hour. It beats pushing on every time!
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