Making a break for it
I looked too pale yesterday. I had eaten my lunch too early, so the afternoon was dragging. My lipstick shade looked off. My hair was being annoying. There were crumbs on my desk. There was an annoying guy outside my window, yelling at someone. Everything was icky.
I tried to think of ways to cheer up. I asked Best Friend to play tennis after work, but she had a hair appointment. I asked a work friend to accompany me on a treat-run, but she was too busy (so I didn’t go either). L is out of town, so there was no upcoming crafting date to be happy about.
Darling Husband — being the usual darling that he is — dropped by on an afternoon break to bring me a tea and a chocolate-chip cookie. He even let me sit in the passenger seat for 10 minutes to talk, before he had to jet off to work. That was nice, but as soon as he drove off, my mood dropped again.
By 4 p.m., nothing had worked. I clearly wasn’t getting any work done, so I started doing other things. I played a couple of MP3s. I put on some blush. I re-did my hair. I touched up my nail polish. I cleaned off my desk. I opened a Diet Coke — yeah, that whole Lent thing only lasted four days.
All of those little tasks only took about 10 minutes, but I felt a lot better afterwards. I was even able to spend the last hour of the day actually accomplishing stuff.
And then it dawned on me. I had taken a “break.”
Since I bring my lunch everyday and don’t drink coffee, I have virtually no reason to leave the office between 9 and 5. None. We don’t have a lunchroom, so I eat at my desk — usually answering e-mails at the same time.
When I do a take a break, it’s to check out my fave blogs, write posts, etc. — not exactly a break from my computer, is it?
I thought I was being a good employee but working the whole time, but the truth is that not taking a break was making me worse at my job. Because I had no real break, my concentration was shot after a while, and I was more tired and cranky than I should have been.
Starting today, I am vowing to take a few little breaks every day — true breaks, that do not involve the computer (even if it’s reading something fun). I’m going to …
- Paint my nails
- Re-do my hair/makeup
- Walk around outside (even just around the building)
- Sit on my window seat and pretend to read a file (but really sketch fun design ideas)
- Organize my office
- Draw on my whiteboards (I have pretty markers in 10 shades — a perk of ordering all the corporate office supplies)
I’m going to stick to this promise! Otherwise I may end up burning out by the age of 26.
One Comment on “Making a break for it”
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Heather's Handmade Life 
I can totally relate!Stopping by from SITS to say hello!Have a great day!
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