Quick Tip – Let Off Steam

🚀 Don’t wait until it’s too late – Issue #132

Do you follow me on Instagram? If you do, then you may have seen that I went skiing before starting work yesterday.

I live close enough to one ski resort that I can get a couple of hours in on a weekday morning, which allows me to avoid the crowds. In and out, then back to work!

However, I let years go by without skiing. I told myself that I was too busy to take a break. I wanted to squeeze in more working hours.

That’s a recipe for burning out.

I did the same thing when I worked at eBay. I was there for over four years, but I never took a real vacation. Not once in four years! No wonder my stress levels were off the charts back then.

I’ve witnessed several friends and colleagues have mental and emotional breakdowns due to burning the candle at both ends. They worked long hours, nights and weekends, and tried to make everyone happy at work and home.

The one person that they were not focused on was themselves. Some ended up being hospitalized.

You aren’t a machine. You can’t work 24/7 under high levels of stress and expect that you will be able to perform like that for years without paying the price.

Even if you do use your allotted vacation time, it’s risky to put off taking care of your mental and emotional health until that trip to Hawaii every year. I’ve discovered that a two-week vacation isn’t a magical fix for six months of hard work and stress.

I need to give myself breaks every week to let off steam so that pressure doesn’t build up and hurt me. That means taking a couple of hours to go skiing in the morning, even if that little voice in my head is telling me to sit down with my laptop and get to work right away.

As you may know, I also take a little time every day to work out. That also serves to blow off steam.

If you are a driven and ambitious person, I know that you want to squeeze in as many productive hours as you can every day. I want you to understand that taking care of your health — physical, emotional, and mental — should be considered a productive use of your time.

Taking time for yourself — what some call “self-care” — isn’t being lazy or selfish. You need to recover and recharge your batteries to bring your best self to your work and life.

I know that I always feel more energized and creative when I return from a micro-vacation. You’d be surprised that it sometimes only takes an hour or two to reset stress levels back to normal.

I no longer feel guilty about taking some time for “me.” I’d rather invest in myself so that I can stay healthy and productive for the rest of my life vs. risking a breakdown and hospitalization, which would take me out of work for weeks or even months.

Be kind to yourself!