Struggles and Guilts: Why Taking a Break Can Be Difficult (#024)

In this week's episode, our hosts discuss both physical and emotional struggles. Having been recently diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, Sean discusses how he is adapting physically and emotionally to the condition. He and James discuss the guilt of not working, taking a break, and how hobbies can help you take better care of yourself. Key Takeaways: The hardest part of working post-pandemic is letting go of the guilt when taking a break. Our work-from-home set-up has become so integrated that it is now hard to separate work from life. Intangible works affect us. Thinking about what we’re going to do next also adds up to the stress. You can unwind by staying curious outside of work and exploring new interests. This allows your brain to focus on something else, including the things that stress you. Be intentional about rest. Put aside time for taking a break, so your brain can disconnect. Episode Quotes: Work and personal lives are blurred by our pandemic work habits Sean [00:09:52]: Feeling offended when someone questions why you can't take a break, right? Like something is definitely off-balance. So when I started actually like digging into it a little bit and questioning myself, or reflecting on that, I realize, you know, a lot of it had to do with, I think just, the nature of the pandemic. I started both ventures and clever during the pandemic and built my work habits all around that. And my work habits said the ball just to be working all the time because, well, I'm at home. I wake up, go to my desk, and that is work. There is no separation of anything between work and life. Hobbies and interests outside of work help you disconnect and de-stress James [00:11:28]: I've gone through this idea that the way we can unwind is actually by staying curious. And that's why hobbies, I think, are extremely important. Just because having a hobby, having something to learn outside of work, gives your mind a way to disconnect from a big part of what it does all day. But at the same time, still, be able to grow and still be able to cognitively be improving and working on itself. It sounds weird to say that you have to go learn something to give your mind a break, but I feel like one of the ways to disconnect them. Intentionally set aside time for taking a break Sean [00:13:06]: And the crazy thing is, I have to be intentional about planning those things back into myself. It takes a lot of work to hang out, to plan a day, and then like, ‘Let's try somewhere’. Right? To be intentional about making time to hang out with friends. Show Links: Learn about Bell’s Palsy