The importance of breaks and holidays, still to this day, is an unsolved mystery to some. All work and no play results in burn out. There is no question about it, life, all aspects of life, must be enjoyed in order to have a well balanced life. In this interview between Dale Beaumont and Andrew May find out the importance of breaks and why holidays and regular breaks are actually a necessity and important for success.
After he founded Good Health Solutions, which is now Australia’s largest corporate health and wellbeing consultancy, Andrew continued to work with professional athletes and is now considered one of Australia’s leading experts on performance.
Are holidays and regular breaks necessary for success?
The latest psychology research advises that people take a minimum of two to three weeks holiday every year to fully recover. So bury the laptop, turn off your phone and take a break!
Seven holiday tips to renew, refresh, and recharge:
- Invest time in planning your break – so many people plan their working day to the last second but fail to give any thought to their time off.
- Leave your work in the office – don’t take reports or proposals to finish on your summer break by the beach. Be disciplined and leave work in the office. Besides, is the world really going to end if you don’t do that extra board report right now?
- Don’t fully load your holiday diary like an average working week – adrenaline junkies are notorious for getting back from a week’s holiday totally stuffed (physically and mentally) and in need of a proper relaxing holiday. Don’t spend every waking moment doing things, leave some margin and space to just chill and have time out.
- Bury the laptop – even though you’re going to be regularly tempted, don’t get sucked towards the evil screen. Leave your laptop in the office or in a cupboard in your house. You might even find you are addicted to your laptop, mobile and PDA. If you think I’m talking to you right now, try weaning yourself off them for a week (seriously!).
- Try something new – try and learn something or do something totally new to give your brain a rest from the normal day-to-day grind. Go windsurfing, paddle a kayak, recite some phrases in French, try a different type of yoga class or book in for a relaxing massage.
- Get up at the same time every day – a big trap on holidays is the circadian rhythm ‘free running cycle’. You find you go to bed a little bit later each night and by the end of your break you’re going to bed at midnight or one in the morning and not getting up until late morning. Try to go to bed and get out of bed at your usual times. If you are sleep deprived, reward yourself by going to bed an hour earlier each night or having an afternoon siesta.
- Learn to relax – as a reformed workaholic, I honestly had to learn to relax. I can remember watching movies and at the same time thinking (sometimes even writing) about unfinished ‘to do’ lists. Set up boundaries that force you to relax and try doing something else a little bit new in this day and age – turn off your mobile phone!
For more from Andrew May visit “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed!“.
