Healthy Happy Loving Life: Is it Time for a Break? 6 Top Tips!

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A real day off, energy, Kebba Buckley Button, let go, stress, Take a break, why you should take breaks

© 2021 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved. http://www.kebba.com

Image by Megapixl

We all know what “a break” would be, but do we all know when it’s high time to schedule one for ourselves?  The man in the above image has multiple tasks going at once.  Laptop open, he is also reading from a hardcover book, and he has a pen next to his mug.  So he is taking some form of notes on paper as well.  His eyes are tired, and his glasses are off, set aside while he rubs his eyes.  He is so tired that he has brought an open cup of coffee (or tea) to his desk, forgetting that one spill can ruin his hard drive– yes– ask me about The Great Hot Chocolate Incident of 2009!  This man is also clearly on deadline, as an hourglass is pouring sand enthusiastically, silently ticking down the man’s minutes to meet his deadline or fail.  Don’t you feel tired, just studying him?  I hope someone is bringing him dinner soon.

So, eyes tired, brain stale, back and backside weary: this man needs a break!  What should he do, after he meets his deadline?  I have 6 top tips:

1.  Plan 24-48 hours of real time off, not taking any business calls, and with an out-of-office message on your voicemail.  Stash the children with relatives who don’t feed them sugar.
2.  Choose a vacation from guilt!  Promise yourself you will not think about your normal worries.  Guilt shifts your nervous system, and what you need is a break from pressure on your nervous system.
3.  Change your channel.  Find a place where they won’t find you.  Leave for the nearest hotel with pools and gardens.  Decide if you may want to go there  regularly.
4. Get some physical relaxation.  Schedule a massage.  Take their yoga or tai chi class.  If you enjoy swimming or lounging in the jacuzzi, do that.  Practice stretching across the bed or couch.  It’s great for your back muscles and circulation generally.
5. Eat berries for breakfast and dark green organic leafies– salad or stir-fry– for other meals.  The high antioxidant levels in these foods will recharge you within hours.
6. Consider adding a day.  I once did this in San Francisco, where I had gone for business.  Then I had free time, and I walked miles every day, exploring the city.  I felt so great on the third day that I asked the hotel if I could stay another day.  They readily agreed, as did the airline. Yes, this was back when you phoned and made arrangements with a real person. The real persons were charmed that I was just having a good time and wanted to stay longer.

Image by Megapixl

So, here is a measure of your success at creating a refreshing break: what age did you feel when you left for your day/s off?  Notice you feel much younger at the close of your break?  Now your eyes and brain and heart and back and backside are all refreshed.  Everything will seem clearer and easier.  You may find yourself smiling more and enjoying everything more.  And that’s you:  more and more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!  

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Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life.  She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within:  Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office.   To email us, kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Why Take a Week Off

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breaks, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, out of office, vacation benefits, why you should take breaks

© 2021 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.

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I just got back after a week out of the office. Some family things were going on that needed my attention. It was imperative. Our 2 nearest relatives were flying in.  I made the difficult decision to be out of the office for a week, during a blog challenge I was committed to, the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Hey, I love my work!  I’m doing what I’m called to do, and I love interacting with clients and colleagues.  I love writing and specifically, generating materials that help people trade in their stress for energy and happiness.  At the decision moment, I was perfectly up-to-date in the Ultimate Blog Challenge and would possibly lose some Google search impetus by taking a week out.

Oh well!  So I messaged a couple of people not to worry, postponed all my clients, and cancelled all my meetings and networking events. Now guilt-free, I changed my channel to HFL—Home and Family Life (I made this up).  It felt strangely freeing.  While not a vacation, it was a complete switchup, a complete re-focusing of my energies.  The first day, it was hard not to write an article.  But everything worked out, and I am now back in the office, heart and mind refreshed.

There’s a lot of expert commentary about why you should take breaks during the day.  This list comes from University College London, or UCL, which offers it on their website: 

• Breaks help you to process and retain information.
• You’ll get a better sense of the bigger picture.
• You’ll be more creative.
• Breaks can help you cultivate heathier habits.
• Taking regular breaks helps you be more productive.

If you extend this concept to taking a few days to change your personal channel, you can see you would be greatly refreshing your mind and views—your ability to look at things creatively.

The vacation studies show that your feel-good brain neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine, rise during your days off.  Vacations are not trivial,” says Frank Farley, PhD, a leading clinical psychologist, professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, and former president of the American Psychological Association. “In this workaholic America, we have to treat them as precious stuff … keep alive the good feelings and relaxing times.”

So maybe, like me, you want to take a week to simply change your channel?  Then mark your calendar to really do it!  Cancel your clients and meetings, change that channel, and simply look for positives in your everyday life. “Every day, think about things that you did well, that you enjoyed that day,” Farley says.  And that’s you, being more and more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!  

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Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM, is a stress solutions expert, holistic guide, and award-winning author who celebrates life.  She has a longtime energy healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within:  Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office.   To email us, kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button