6 Signs You Might Need to Take a Break

- Nathaniel Konga | Marketing Enthusiast

Breaks. There is a lot of talk about taking breaks online yet, no one seems to be applying the information. I'm not sure if it's because people don't think it's important enough or they don't know how to take a pause. Either way, the lack of application of breaks into our lives severely hurts us, even if we might not see its impact in the short run. 

Knowing when to take a break from work can be challenging. For workaholics, the adrenaline kicks in, and you just don't want to stop, so you keep on going and going and going. Your productivity is high, and you feel great, so why stop? It just isn't sustainable, and you are putting yourself at a disadvantage in the long run. You need a balance between resting and working. By finding the right balance, you allow yourself to recalibrate and find inspiration.

Here are six signs you might need to take a break:

1. You Have A Hard Time Concentrating

It's always better to do two hours of intensely focused work rather than four hours of unfocused work. If you have a hard time concentrating while working, chances are you need some time to regain your focus.

2. You Are Restless

You have finished all your work, eaten, taken a shower, and you are ready to go to sleep, but you just can't seem to sleep. So what do you do? You decide to watch an episode of your favorite sitcom, call a friend, hop on your phone, get a snack…and still can’t sleep? You start worrying, especially since you have a long workday tomorrow. What do you do? You keep on worrying and overthinking about how not getting any sleep tonight will completely ruin your workday tomorrow, which, to be fair, it probably will. After two more hours of worrying, you fall asleep only to wake up 3 hours after that. What a waste of a night! 

Does this sound familiar? If this does sound like you, then a break might benefit you. Obviously, there could also be many other issues that you need to address, but taking a break will help you regardless.

3. You Aren't Enjoying Your Favorite Things

Life should be fun. And fun comes from doing your favorite things. If you are not doing your favorite things, then you are not having fun with your life. I know I know, some of you might say that doing work is fun for you but so is watching football, talking to your friends, going to the movies, baking, taking a walk in the park, working out, going to see the circus, binge-watching soap operas, and many more things. Work can be fun, but it becomes an unhealthy obsession if that's all you are doing. A sure sign that you might need to take a break is if you struggle to enjoy the extra fun things in life!

4. You Are Constantly Overthinking

Overthinking is my best friend. Seriously, it’s like a toxic couple that you can't seem to break up. I work every day, and sometimes before I go to sleep, I overthink about the following day or week or month or year. I used to suffer from this every day, especially in the last year, until I decided to take a long-needed break. I took one week off, and the overthinking just stopped for that whole week. Set aside at least three hours per day to not work and do other things that you enjoy.

5. Eating Has Become A Chore

Eating shouldn't be a chore, but if it is, that might be a sign that you need a break. Take this, for example, you ordered your favorite burger from your favorite burger place. With each bite, you can't stop thinking about the next task you have to do. Think about it: you would instead think about the next task you have to do than to not enjoy each bite of your favorite burger? Come on now, life is way too short for you to not enjoy that burger. Try taking a break and see how that changes your eating habits. Chances are you will be enjoying that burger much more. 

6. Bottom Line

Everyone needs a break from time to time, but it can be hard to recognize when it's time to hit pause. If you think any of the above sounds like you at the moment or you are simply doing things differently from what you are used to, then you might need a break. 

Keep in mind that many of these signs overlap with symptoms of depression. If you find yourself doing the above even after taking a restful break, then it might be worth it to contact a therapist. 

Anyways, see you soon!