Defragging
Posted by kathryn in Work life integration
I loved this post over at Freaked-Out Fathers about the importance of defragging – time away from the bustle of life to clear your head. His advice is specifically for dads, but chill-out time is something we all need. No matter how much you love your job, your family, your partner, we all need “time away from the noise”. And if you’re not getting this time, then it will effect you and your relationships.
I suspect this is why many men make the detour to the pub or bar on the way home, or actually stay back in the office when everyone else has left, just to have some peace and quiet where they don’t have to listen carefully, respond, mediate, etc etc. Unfortunately neither of these solutions is really meeting the need. You need time to relax and refresh, to let go of one role before taking on the next, a way to chill out . . .
I’ve been talking about work-life integration recently and this need for down-time is one of the reasons I’ve started meditating regularly . However, there are many other ways to get the time out you need. Going for short walks during your lunch break, walking part of the way home from work, spending an hour at the beach on the weekend, all of these will give you the time you need. Freaked-Out Father has some good suggestions, as he says “defrag your head and your life regularly and both will run better”.
Are you able to clear your head on a regular basis and if so, what’s the best technique you’ve found?
15 May, 2007
Comments
A walk.
Always a walk.
With the dog, preferably.
Walking is always good – it clears your mind, but also gets you outside into the world where you can appreciate other things in life (trees, parks, pets, flowers, other people).
Where I live, I’m 15 minutes walk (at a good pace) from Blackwattle Bay and the harbour. It’s a great motivator to get me out the house and off for a good 45 minute walk. Plus there’s always something different to look at, which gets me out of my head and into the moment.
Definately the walk home from work – and oddly enough it’s better for defragging when I don’t have the ipod. I used to always walk home, then stopped for some reason, and I think that’s when my stress levels got waay out of control. Now that I have resigned and have only a few weeks left at work, I started walking home again, and whaddya know, life and my headspace is a zillion times better – the extra excercise is just incidental, a bonus.
Getting away from the desk at lunchtime too, fresh air does the trick for me.
I agree with you Rosie, about the lack of music being better for calming down. You can get caught up in your head with the music playing, which is exactly the opposite of what you’re trying to do.
And isn’t it always the way – just when we need these things the most (when the stress levels are rising), is when we stop. Remember how you are feeling now (and that it’s possible to feel that way!).
Thanks for referencing me Kathryn, and I like the direction you’ve taken the thought. For me I’ve got to get around water; I remember going to Sea World and walking down underground to look into the shark tank… and standing absolutely transfixed for a full 5 minutes. Something about the interplay of light and liquid through the glass began to bleed all of my stress and distraction away … much to the irritation of mykids who wanted to get on with the day!
Keep up the great Blog!
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