The Importance of Taking a Break

When finding something that we thoroughly enjoy, it can sometimes be difficult to take a break from it, because why would we want to stop doing something that is really fun in our eyes?  I find that I always forget to take breaks from my writing. I go from writing for work, to writing my novels, to writing my blogs. Although they are all different types of writing, I am still using my creative side that can eventually force me into having a burnout. 

Burnouts aren’t good as they can affect all different areas of your life in a negativing way, for example, your home life, work-life and social life. The stress that a person feels when having a burnout is normally caused due to feeling they have a lot to do without enough time.  Yes, this might make a person also believe that they shouldn’t have a break because of all the tasks they need to do, but taking a break will help a person see things clearer. 

With everything in life, you need to take a break from things. Think about school life, you would have a break every so hours. Perhaps these breaks were for the teachers due to their contracts, but they also taught us that breaks are important in everyday life. It relaxes us and after the break, we are ready to continue with what we are doing. Another example could be cooking, most people cook their dinner, but it can sometimes get too much which is why takeaways are perfect to have as it gives people a chance to sit down and chill, rather than being on their feet and cooking. 

There are many benefits when it comes to taking breaks, these are: 

1. Improves memories ﹘ results have shown that after learning something new, taking a break helps to remember it. 

2. Serves as an energy boost ﹘ having a break helps to calm everything down and to recharge, meaning after your break you have the energy to do more writing or more dancing. 

3. Decreases stress ﹘ as it helps calm everything down, people can start to see things clearer and understand where to go with their work next, meaning it makes everything less stressful

4. Increases health.

5. Boosts performance and creativity.

I now try to take a break after work before doing my own writing. This is important because as seen in point two it helps me gain more energy which is good for when I write my novels. But when you are writing your creative pieces, it’s vital to take breaks throughout. For every chapter that is done, take a break. Finished writing your script, novel, poem take a break. It is extremely crucial to take some time away from your work when you finish, this is because when
you come back to do the editing stage, you’ll be able to read through your work with a fresh look. 

Not only that but with writing, taking breaks can help you gain new ideas, you can’t always be inspired by staring at your work, so you should go out and get some fresh air. 

A way to make sure that you are taking a break is by making a timetable. I have one next to my desk that states what I want to do for that day, and I make sure that between each task I take a break. If you are busy due to work or education then here’s an example of how you can still fit your writing in, choose four days and only allow to write for two hours for each of these days. Remember that the timetable is just a draft, life is spontaneous and something might pop up or you might just be exhausted, that is fine. 

This doesn’t just go for writing, taking breaks is important in everyday life. For example, with exercising I make sure I take a break every Sunday, this is vital to do as it helps me carry on and makes my muscles relax. 

Breaks are important if you want to go far.