Short Story, Big Picture: REST to RECHARGE
Rise and grind. Early bird gets the worm. Let’s get this bread. Hustle culture in today’s workplace is great and produces some amazing results, but every battery runs out of juice at some point. Sure, it’s the holiday season and a lot of us are going to get away from the screens a bit… did you give yourself any time this past year to rest and recharge?
Today’s Short Story is a piece to help you achieve your long-term goals, aka the Big Picture.
“All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” is an old proverb that we have all heard at one time in our lives, but do we actually execute what it stands for? Here are three things you can try to take some time away from the almighty screen:
Leave the Mobile Device behind
- How many things in life have you missed because you were staring at a 5-inch screen? Is your business really going to fail if you don’t see that email while you are getting groceries? You know how to get to the store without Google Maps. You can drive your car without Spotify playing through Apple Car Play. Look up and say “Howdy” to the person who greets you when you walk into the store. Running an errand without your mobile device will connect you back to your community.
Look at something 20 Feet Away
- Watching TV on a 60-inch screen, working on a spreadsheet on a 21-inch screen, or scrolling through emails on your 5-inch screen, you are always within 10 feet of screen. That can be brutal on your eyes and cause mental fatigue. Go to a window or step outside and focus on something over 20 feet away. This will help your eyes relax and reduce digital eye strain. This is the 20-20-20 rule. Take a 20-second break every 20 minutes while looking at a screen, focusing on something 20 feet away.
Touch the Grass
- I have a 6-month-old nephew and one of his favorite things to do is touch the trees or bushes before bedtime. What can he teach us? We spend so much time looking at screens, we forget how beautiful life is, in any form. Sitting in the grass, on a beach, or on the side of a mountain in some champagne power will connect us back to the earth that gave us life. We all get so bogged down in our little world that we forget how big the universe actually is.
All of this in moderation, right? Too much work can cause burnout, and too much time away can result in the loss of sales or missed business opportunities. Only you can decide what that balance is for your desk. What I can tell you is, taking small screen breaks, small breaths, a little time away, will help you come back to the desk with a clear vision and a renewed sense of Hustle. Happy Holidays, Y’all!