Even when you work in the wonderful environment of your own home, surrounded by the people and things you love, you’re still working. Because you’re working, at some point, your head will be full (or empty, as the case may be) and you’ll need to take a break. As you will have guessed by now, there are right ways and wrong ways to do this. A good break will give you a chance to get away from the work a little bit, but won’t disconnect you completely from what you were doing. This is a particularly difficult balance to strike for the person who works from home. When that bedroom with the California king and the surround-sound-home-theater- Jacuzzi-wet-bar is only steps away from the computer, break time can easily signal the effective end of your work day. That would be bad. Working from home is great, and if you’d like to continue to be able to do so, skip the nap and take one of these tried (by me) and true methods for taking five.
Housework or yard-work – There are always a million and one things that need to be done in the house or in the yard. Go do some of them. Many of them are things that you could do in your sleep, tasks purely physical in nature that allow your mind to work on more important problems, or better yet, just do some wandering. Because you’re are doing something, you won’t get the urge to just pack it in for the day, and you get the added benefit of having completed some of the chores that are so, so easy to put off.
Cook – On the flip side, maybe you were busy with the busywork of your home business, pushing paper and punching in numbers, and you’ve got hours more routine maintenance to go. Let me suggest you head to the kitchen. We all need to eat, and instead of shoveling cold cuts down your gullet and heading back to the books, take the time to prepare a nice meal. It doesn’t have to be complex or time consuming, but your stomach will thank you for some real homemade food, and the exercise of the creative muscles you use during cooking may just steel you for the completion of the book-keeping that lies ahead.
Ask Your Spouse – This may be the most productive of all possible breaks, and it is so simple. Ask your husband, wife, partner, significant other how you can help with his or her day. As we run our own businesses, we sometimes forget that the person who shares our live has an agenda, responsibilities, a schedule and goals all her own. Say that you’ve got some time, and want to lend a hand. Help with that errand, read over that report, go pick up his mom from the airport. Whatever it is, help. You’ll not only get a bit of diversion from your work, but you’ll score big points with the one you love for your thoughtfulness and consideration.
Little People – Certainly the best break of all. I have five small people that make up my contribution to the genetic future, and I’ll gladly take a break from work to help with homework, look at the new pair of shoes, throw the ball around, play GI Joes, or just sit and be Dad for a little while. It recharges your batteries like nothing else, and as I’ve mentioned in other articles, we can always use a little reminder about exactly who and what we are working so hard for.
Even working from home can be a grind. Follow these tips for break-taking, and you’ll be that much closer to the work-life integration that should be the ultimate goal of working from home.
