Are you glued to your seat working tirelessly to achieve all you have set out for 2023 and beyond? Perhaps you are combining work and study while also finding ways to meet the demands of family.

Having the ability to shake off the many distractions around and focus on work is a great fit to achieve in the kind of complex ecosystem we find ourselves in today. Like a machine, you keep going, working hard. Soon, your body and mind kick in and you feel the need to take some time off, but you wonder how this may halt your progress.

Well, you are worried because you have not been able to fully comprehend the value of hitting the break from time to time to refuel.

So, why does time away from all the hustle and bustle matter?

You can become more productive, creative, and effective.

There are numerous benefits attached to resting. Imagine having the ability to reduce the risks of dying by 20%. Isn’t that an incredible thing? A number of research have shown the many health benefits associated with resting. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that people who slept for less than six hours per night had a 48% increased risk of developing or dying from heart disease, compared to those who slept for seven to eight hours per night.

However, beyond the health benefits, you can actually make your dreams a reality by getting enough rest. Isn’t that incredible? After all, you considered working round the clock to see your dreams come to fruition, isn’t it?

Think of your body and mind like the battery on your mobile. When fully charged it is able to keep your device running as it takes up processing requests from you. Inevitably, the battery drains as your device continues running. Soon, you would need to stop and let it recharge to continue using it without fear of running out of battery power.

By taking time away from your desk to rest, you give your body and mind the opportunity to rejuvenate and come back firing. When you have enough rest, you increase your alertness and focus which helps you to put more time into your work with significant results.

A study has overruled the long-held theory about the nature of attention. It found that workers who found ways to get away from their desks regularly performed better than those who didn’t.

Sometimes, what we need to refuel is beyond short regular breaks. We need significant time away from work. This may differ from one situation to another, depending on how much time you need to rejuvenate.

But another challenge that steers us in the face is how to guarantee we are able to take time away. You might be thinking “How do I rest when I have not yet achieved my targets”.

Here is how to guarantee your time away is taken.

• Document as you work.

Sometimes, the fear of not being able to effectively hand your tasks over to another person strips you of that vacation that you need. This is because there is simply nothing to guide the person who would take over. So, rather than go on a vacation, you keep trying to complete the task(s) because you seem to be the only one who knows what needs to be done and how.

By documenting all processes and components of your work, you are able to seamlessly hand them over when you need to get away.

• Separate work from leisure

With more people working remotely with increasing flexibility, it is becoming hard to delineate between work time and leisure/rest time. More people are working round the clock.

To ensure your time away doesn’t get tangled in the web of work activities, define when you work and when you don’t.

• Just take it

Sometimes, getting away is a walk through the park. Other times, it is against all odds.

You just must close that computer and say I am done for today regardless of how far you have gone on that task. Having the ability to say no is also important here.

Conclusion

The health benefits attributed to rest are numerous and worth resting for. However, it is even more interesting to see that we can actually achieve more by getting off our desks from time to time, rather than working all the time.  To guarantee time away is taken, endeavour to document work processes, separate work from leisure, and take breaks without fear of not achieving targets.