Learning & Root Beer - Part 2

Last Saturday, I took the day off.

I didn't log in to my work email or open up the files I had been working on late into the night on Friday. I didn't log in to my university's online portal or check any of the messages that had my phone pinging with alerts. I even turned off the alerts for the rest of the day. The only thing I did was sleep in late and drag myself to the store to buy some milk and fill up my gas tank. Then I settled down for a serious Netflix binge watching session that lasted for the rest of the day.

It was heaven!

It was also a sorely needed oasis in a sea of work and school that I really needed. With all the work and school projects that have been stirring up my brain, it deserved a rest with nothing to consume but endless hours of streaming mental popcorn and actual popcorn.

Call it a mental health day (more like a weekend), when I picked up the reins of my life again on Monday morning, I felt more able to focus than I have been for the last few months.

To some people this may sound like slacking off, it's actually a very effective way to renew your mind, body and spirit that is beneficial if not necessary. Dr. Alex Likerman, in Psychology Today, put it this way:

"While there's no lack of stress in the lives of anyone I know, I've certainly observed a consistent lack of reprieve from it. Sleep may help somewhat, but psychologically we seem to require a different kind of break from stress to refresh ourselves enough to be able to better manage it over time. We need, in essence, to be able to forget about it for a while. A mental break, as it were."

In other words, if you want to feel better and work better, take some time off.

Sometimes you just can't keep pushing through the physical and mental fatigue. Put what ever you are struggling with down and step away for a while. Think about something else. Put your feet up. Unplug.

And breathe...