Take the Day Off! We All Need a “Stop Day”

Are you taking time off this weekend for the 4th of July? If you live in the US, I hope the answer is YES.

Yesterday I took my kids to their tutor (I’m not one of those parents if that’s what you’re thinking, I’m more the I-hope-my-kid-passes-2nd-grade-better-get-some-help kinda Mom) and she said something that stopped me in my tracks. She told me she had to cancel next week because she’s taking a little vacation for the first time in 4 years. FOUR YEARS. She’s a teacher with a summer job and never takes time for herself. Ever.

Oddly enough, I had JUST seen this quote…

“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” – Bertrand Russell

I do think work is important and probably you do too, but not THAT important. Not important to have a nervous breakdown over.

I found an article I really like about the need for us all to disconnect. It’s a health issue, for heaven’s sake!

It;s about the importance of a STOP Day from cnn.com and it discusses how we’re connected 24/7 and what it’s really doing to us: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/11/health/sleeth-take-day-off/

Dr. Matthew Sleeth is a former emergency room physician and the author of “24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life.”

According to Dr. Sleeth, “We go 24/7 now, and I think it’s having health consequences. I think more and more, there’s a consensus that it leads to depression and anxiety.”

And this part is fascinating: “It’s interesting that if I took somebody in the emergency department and gave them a big slug of adrenaline, you’ll find that an hour later they’re just wiped out, and that’ll really persist throughout the day. I think that’s what we’re doing to ourselves. We’re constantly bringing stress into our life, and the idea of having one day a week that I can count on to stop is very reassuring.”

Yes! That’s it exactly. Such a simple thing, really. Knowing you definitely have one real day of rest is totally freeing. It takes some of the pressure off of the other 6 days. I know Tim Ferris is a big advocate of turning off the phone and media one day a week. EVERY WEEK. I’m ;earning to do it – slowly – and it’s harder than I thought it would be. My excuse is I need my phone with me “for the kids”. Heaven forbid someone has a bloody nose and I don;t hear about it in the first 4 minutes, right?

So here’s my challenge for you (and for me)…

TURN OFF YOUR PHONE for the next 24 hours. Leave it at home, have someone hide it from you. Just H=get rid of it and FEEL the relaxation.

If you feel you can’t turn it off completely, disconnect the media portion (email, Facebook, anything that dings, everything – NO CHEATING) and just leave the texting feature on for emergencies.

Can you do it? Answer in the comments below.

A: YES I can do it for one full day!
B: NO but I will do it on this date, 2015
C: No I’m never going to do it

Thanks for reading and Happy Independence Day!!

Jane

P.S. Costing and Pricing Your Work – online workshop is next Thursday, July 9th! Click here to check it out: https://fashionbrainacademy.com/live-training-costing-and-pricing-your-work-for-profit/