Are You Giving Yourself Enough Downtime?
June 5, 2007 by Kristen King
Filed under Women's Health
I loved this past Saturday’s article by Nancy LaFever, LISW, LICDC, on the importance of downtime at the Emotional Well-Being Blog:
As a therapist, I know the importance of building quiet, reflective time into our insanely hectic schedules. It’s a key component of my own mental and physical well-being. So I should know better, right? I emphasize this to my patients all the time, especially if they are experiencing high levels of stress and/or anxiety.
But it seems people don’t have a value for this “downtime” that is so important to our functioning. When I look around, everyone seems to be in constant contact with someone – work, family or friends and even strangers!
Sound familiar? I know that I have a tendency to suffer from overconnectedness!
Get Nancy’s take on things. You’ll be glad you did.
Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King
I just recently started giving myself “downtime.” I used to work ridiculous hours. I thought I had to in order to be a successful freelancer. I was WRONG!
A couple of months ago I gave my work load and work schedule a major overhaul. I started QUITTING at a designated time and not logging back on until the next morning. I started using that newfound “free time” to do things that normal people do – you know, cook dinner rather than eat out everyday, get in a load or two of laundry, sweep the kitchen floor… To me, these are ways I get and enjoy downtime.
Then, on the weekends, I just lounge around. I may knock off a thing or two on my work “to do ” list in the morning, but that’s it. Weekends are “me” time, “family” time, etc.