It’s Time for You to Take a Break
My name is E.J., blogger, self-published author, freelance editor, and all-around storyteller. I’m on a mission to chronicle a year in my life — a year of writing books, video games, blog posts, and everything in between. A year of the good, inspiring days and the upside-down I-can’t-write-to-save-my-life days.
This is 365(ish) Days of Writing: Day 39
You ever get that feeling that time is moving too fast?
That was how I felt today as I watched the minutes tick closer and closer to 4:00 (when I had to get ready for a costume party; I went as a Pokémon trainer). My to-do list seemed oddly devoid of checkmarks, and yet, time kept moving.
This has been the norm for the past four days. It seems like every text I send this week starts with, “So sorry for the late response, it’s been a crazy week. . .” Work ramped up, the cold weather blew in (and it would have been a crime not to take some time to enjoy it while it was there), I had to figure out my costume, and my mom is coming to stay next week, so the house needed to be cleaned. Desperately.
I didn’t stay long at the costume party (I mainly just went for the free food), but by the time I returned home, I was exhausted. I could have fallen asleep but knew it wasn’t a good idea; once I lay down for a nap, I usually don’t get back up again, even if I set timers.
My half-finished to-do list stared at me mockingly. I sat on the couch for several minutes wondering if I could muster the will to get anything done at the moment. The last time I’d actually had some rest (apart from sleep) was Sunday, and I was really feeling it.
Then it hit me, and I could have beat my head against the wall.
I wasn’t even taking my own advice.
I always talk about how important rest is for writers. Yes, to-do lists are important, but human beings are much more important. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably a human being (but if you’re not please contact me because I have so many questions). You need rest. You need breaks. You need time—apart from sleep—when you can let your brain relax. Not only is it important for your well-being, but also your creativity.
I had not been resting. Yes, I had done many other important things during the week, but I could have spared an hour or two to chill and read or play a game. It was what I needed.
The more I thought about it, the more I realised how high-strung I’d been since the previous night, in particular. I feel like I’m doing a fairly good job of kicking my anxiety habit (credit to Jesus) but I’ve noticed that it all comes roaring back when I need a rest. The lack of rest had been affecting me seriously for the past day and it was even starting to impact my husband as I wasn’t quite myself.
So, as I sat there on the couch, taking all of this in, I knew what I had to do. I leaned back, turned towards the TV, and booted up Pokémon Violet (controversial, I know; don’t hate). I played for two hours, and even as I did so, a small voice in the back of my mind wondered where I’d get the time to finish my to-do list.
I didn’t know. But what I did know was that right then, sitting there on the couch was more important than work and chores.
Once the two hours were up, I had more energy and the brain fog had gone. I went straight to chores and finished them much quicker than I’d anticipated. I went then to the writing tasks on my to-do list, and here we are.
Somehow, it all got done. The hours that absolutely shouldn’t have added up correctly just. . . did.
Here’s the thing: you need rest. How do I know? Because all writers do. At one point or another, we all get too caught up in our WIPs, articles, and posts. We keep pushing, keep typing, keep telling ourselves that if we can just finish this part, then it will be time to rest.
But what if the time to rest is now? What if, sometimes, you simply need to stop what you’re doing and sit on the couch? Take a nap, make a cuppa, read a book, watch a show, whatever you need to do to just rest for a bit. It’s not forever, just for thirty minutes (or maybe an hour or two if you really need it like I did). This isn’t laziness; it’s taking care of yourself. In a strange way, it’s also helping your writing.
I wouldn’t be writing this post now if I hadn’t taken a break. I’m not sure I would have even gotten around to writing a Medium article today if I had tried to plough through my work; I probably would have dropped dead asleep or taken too long to do everything else on my to-do list. At the very least, I wouldn’t have had the energy or brain space to write something decent.
I can’t promise you that the time will work out magically as it did for me today. Sometimes, there will be a small sacrifice when you have to move a task to another day or week so you have time to relax. At the time, it seems like a big deal. It’s not. What is a big deal is not allowing yourself to rest.
This is me giving you permission: take a break. Do it smartly and set a limit, but do it all the same and enjoy it. Your writing will be waiting for you when you return.
