You need that break
Plus, the Music Highlight
Photo by Timothy Barlin on Unsplash
Summer is here in the northern hemisphere and in many countries, people are taking time off work to go on longer holidays, go on a city break, just take time off to stay at home, or just take a break during the day, since a lot of jobs wind down or are lighter now.
I do have to take my annual holidays at some point - the good thing is I can take them whenever I want to during the year. However, the summer is a good time to work with my students who are mostly Executive Assistants taking their exams in October - and most of them have more time now in the summer, due to the breaks they can also take, or study holidays, as they call them : )
I was talking with one of my students the other day in our conversation class, and I asked her if she’s looking forward to her holiday and she asked me: “And when are y o u taking a break?”
After I explained that it’s a great time of the year to keep going with my exam students, I told her that I’d decided to take some long weekends off until I took the longer holiday. I think that will help too, either to just relax and spend time with my family, or also incorporate some PhD time in there paired with rest.
Do you need a break?
Sure you do, and you need that break.
I used to think a long time ago that if I didn’t manage to get a longer holiday, I’d have to keep powering through non-stop. That was definitely not a good idea.
The impact of working without catching your breath will be seen soon, and it’s not going to be good. One of the words going around lately is burnout, and I know a lot of people who have it or have gone through it, and we all know how that happened.
I hope those of you reading take a break every now and then!
What kind of breaks can you have?
A few days or a few weeks off. If you have it in your contract, take it!
A long weekend.
A meeting with a friend or family member.
An evening after work. This is so important in Swiss culture (I split my time between Switzerland and Greece now, but from 2009-2023 I lived exclusively in Switzerland). They call it Fyröbig, which translated very freely means the evening you enjoy and have fun right after work. That is where is realised that I need to arrange time to relax and have fun!
A coffee or tea break! (One of the best kinds of breaks, as you can always combine the beverage with sweet or savory treats!)
A break with your book!
A morning or night routine.
A nap.
What kind of breaks do you try to incorporate in your life?
The Music Highlight
Aaaaand today we come back to our Music Highlights!
Today’s song reminds me of when I was little - my dad sometimes went to other places to work in restaurants and he spent some time away from us. For those who know me, my dad is my best buddy and I really missed him when he went away. It was the time of phones and letters, so in the early 90s he really loved the following song so much, that he would sing it to us on the phone when he called us after or during work. The most touching thing about this song is that my dad really meant it - he was working away from us so we could have the education and anything we needed.
Anything you want, you got it.
Anything you need, you got it.
Anything at all, you got it.
Enjoy Roy Orbison’s beautiful voice!