We’ve all heard the saying ” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” That saying doesn’t just apply to Jack, but applies to all of us. If we don’t take some time out of our busy daily schedule, then we too are at a risk of becoming dull, just like Jack.
There is no denying that life can be busy and full on at times, whether we go out to work or stay home to look after the family, life is demanding. So every now and again we must take time to recharge our batteries, by making time to unwind and relax.
We don’t expect our cars to run on empty or our mobile phones to work without having to plug them in to recharge, so why do many of us find it so difficult to make time to recharge our own batteries? By taking just a little time to unwind, our energy levels increase, we are happier and can cope better when the unexpected happens.
Take Time Out…
No matter how busy we are, we can all set aside a little time to unwind. The quality of the time spent unwinding is more important than the length of time. Avoid using computers or phones in this time, in fact turn them off if you can or my advice would be to bury them in the garden!…Wouldn’t you just love to sometimes?
Our recharge day is a Friday. I love and look forward to Fridays. Fridays are our laid back day, when we eat bad food, watch bad television and spend time together as a family, enjoying one anothers company.
Of course there are some things that must be done on a Friday, like the children must go to school and the dogs have to be fed, but on the whole Fridays are our day for kicking back and unwinding. Homework doesn’t have to be done and chores are scaled back to only the necessary.
On a Friday it is totally acceptable to be watching bad television in the middle of afternoon or eating ice cream from the tub, if that’s what we want to do. It is even acceptable to enjoy a bowl of those nasty three minute noodles as Friday night dinner.
It is a day when I won’t cook a proper meal; beans on toast, a tin of fish on toast or eggs on toast suffice as lunch. Nobody starves and I get a day off from cooking.
Friday nights is when my husband takes Gregs, our son out to play pool and me and Catherine watch a bad soap opera and eat chocolate.
The children get a nag free day and I have a day off from chasing the ‘darlings’!
Friday is also a day when we say ‘No!’ to running around. We won’t do lessons, therapies or make appointments on a Friday, unless it is a matter of life or death! Friends think twice before calling us on a Friday, as they have got to know that it is ‘our’ day.
So You Can’t Take A Whole Day…
You may not be able to take a whole day to unwind and recharge. You may only be able to take a few hours, but that is no excuse not to take them and make them quality hours, by setting your own rules and saying ‘No!’ to things that are unnecessary or can be rescheduled. It really isn’t the length of time you take that is important, it is how you feel after taking that time out.
Our Saturdays can be crazy and are probably my least favourite day of the week, but I always wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day and all because I recharged on Friday.
Life Is Short…
Life is too short at the best of times, so we mustn’t let it pass us by in a blur.
I know that I don’t want to look back on my life and wonder when it passed me by.
I don’t want to wake up one day and realize that my children have both grown up and I was too busy to notice.
I don’t want to be struck down by a stress related condition that could have been avoided, had I just taken a little time out.
I want my children to be able to look back and remember us spending some quality time together.
Yes, we have our barnies and there are times when I am sure the children dislike me immensely, but I know that will be able to look back and say that we always had fun Fridays together.
Do regularly plan timeout from your daily schedule to unwind or is life passing you by in a blur?
Copyright © 2014 Debbie Roberts
© 2014 – 2020, Debbie. All rights reserved.
Katie @ Pick Any Two says
Debbie Roberts says