Time Out: Free Your Mind & Fuel High Productivity

And 5 Targeted Tips That Will Inspire Authentic Growth!?

Why Do We Need to Take Time Out for Ourselves??

Daily life bombards us with stress. Indeed, any external or internal stimulus that elicits a biological response is, by its very nature, stress. If you want to be more productive, are struggling with cumulative stress, and your to-do list seems never to get done, you deserve and?need?to take time out.?

Some stress leads to positive, strengthening outcomes.?

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.?

But when it becomes unbearable, overwhelming, relentless — extreme stress can cause disease and disorders. (1)

Studies have shown that stress affects the human nervous system, causing structural changes in various areas of the brain. (2) Chronic stress leads to brain atrophy, decreasing its weight.?(3)?

These structural changes cause different responses to stress, cognition, and memory, depending on the level and duration of stress. (2) But research highlights the long-term effects of stress on the nervous system, (4) clearly indicating the need for daily stress reduction activities to build resiliency.?

Life’s responsibilities take their toll on your time and resources. Work, family, and community fill your days with commitments. But those responsibilities make it even more urgent that you take care of yourself. Self-care allows you to meet your obligations with the energy required and helps ensure you’ll be healthy enough to continue for a long time to come.

Benefits of Time Out?

• Improves physical, mental, and emotional health
• Enhances your ability to care for others — prevents burnout
• Encourages longevity (5)

A Time Out Allows You to Reflect on Life’s Purpose?

Everyone needs a sense of purpose — the driving force that gets you out of bed in the morning — your big “Why.” Why do you go to work every day? Why do you attend your child’s sporting events? Why do you help your spouse with the dishes at the end of a busy day? The short, simple answers you might hear from people would be, “To make money and pay the bills,” — “Because it’s the right thing to do,” ?— or “Because my spouse works hard all day too, and it’s only fair if I pitch in.”?

But there are more profound reasons, just under the surface, and you can find them with a bit of self-reflection. The need to contribute value to the world, to help change things for the better, is hard-wired in our brains.?

Taking time out for yourself allows you space to self-reflect and appreciate life.?

APPRECIATION NOT EXPECTATION

Quiet the Brain & Rest from “Thinking”?

Are you constantly thinking? Or over-thinking? Or re-thinking? With 40-50000 thoughts a day, that’s a lot for your brain to process. Sometimes you need a way to filter your thoughts. Sift the important from the unimportant. Life’s stresses and worries can fill our brains with anxious meanderings that stifle creativity and motivation. Bogged down in negative thoughts and emotions, it's all you can do just to keep yourself going.?

A time-out provides the perfect opportunity to “let it be.” It’s the time to switch off cortical, higher-level executive functions of decision-making, reasoning, and analysis. And that allows other parts of your brain to light up instead, enabling your subconscious mind to surface.?

Benefits of Taking Time Out for Yourself?

If you’ve ever thought it’s selfish to take time out for yourself, I encourage you to set aside that belief. Besides health benefits, besides the fact that taking care of yourself helps you better care for others, self-care can also help you become more productive!?

Refreshes Your Mind?

Taking a time out provides a break from stress. It’s like a mental and emotional vacation. And you know what happens when you’re on vacation, right? You relax. And when you come back to your life, you’re refreshed and ready to take on the world!?

Clears the Way for Inspirational Thought Processes?

You know that problem you've been trying to solve at work for days? The mundane tasks you carry out daily distract you, burying the solution where you couldn't access it. A well-deserved time-out can trigger the 'aha moment' brewing under the surface by activating the default mode network (6) in your brain – the creativity web that is only activated when you stop doing. It’s a relaxed, refreshed mind that clears the way for inspiration.?

Getting out of the office, out of the house, and into a relaxing environment allows you to expand your horizons. While you’re taking time out, your brain is resetting itself — it’s taking a deep breath and relaxing.?

That relaxation fuels inspiration, and, before you know it, your brain will reward you with an 'aha moment' that could solve one of your most pressing problems!

A Productive Time Out Energises Motivation Levels?

You chose to take time out. By your own strength of will, you disengaged from the world's cares and focused on your needs. You freed yourself from your self-imposed boundaries. That’s right. You control how you spend your time, energy, and resources. If you force yourself to “carry on” despite the exhaustion that cumulative daily stress causes, you’ve resigned yourself to a trapped life.?

People who feel trapped lose motivation! When you hear yourself saying, “I need a vacation,” that’s a sure sign you’re feeling trapped. Don’t wait for your scheduled yearly vacation to free yourself. Take a time out today. You’ll return to life’s daily tasks ready, willing, and energised to tackle whatever life throws at you!?

Increased Motivation Facilitates Progress in Reaching Your Goals?

Your increased motivation levels will help you reach your goals as you surge forward with renewed purpose, clarity, creativity, and intention. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

Time Out Tips?

A productive time out involves more than self-indulgence if you want to get the most out of it. Much more. Still, there’s a lot to be said for a satisfying massage or soak in the tub. Perhaps start your time out retreat there.?

Once you’ve relaxed, focus on some of the following activities that encourage self-reflection, learning, and purpose-driven attitudes by taking a purposeful P.A.U.S.E.?

1 - P: Plan – Human design is based on oscillation, a rise, a fall, a peak, and a valley. This is the rhythmical nature of the world — so lean into it. Plan your off-peak times — yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly.

2 - A: Appreciation – Appreciation, not Expectation. Look at your life from a place of abundance. Take time to see what you have rather than what you don't have because what you focus on flourishes.

3 - U: Unplug – When’s the last time you switched off from digital distractions? Try a digital free day once a month and notice how different your presence feels.

4 - S: Say No – say no first and evaluate every idea before saying yes with these four questions:?

• I: Identity – Does saying yes to this help me be who I want to be?
• D: Difference – Does saying yes to this help me make a difference to others?
• E: Engagement – Does saying yes to this help me engage and connect with others?
• A: Assets – Does saying yes to this help me build my assets and skills??

5 - E: Exhale: Slow your breathing to less than six breaths a minute. This will help reduce negative thinking, reduce your stress hormone cortisol, and maintain more sustained attention to tasks. (7)?

The above activities to take a pause will help you gain insights into who you are. They’ll provide internal validation for your self-worth, enhancing your ability to contribute. As you contribute freely — creatively — with joy, you’ll impact others’ lives in ways that motivate you to continue. (8)

Time Out Take-Aways?

1. So, let’s recap the benefits of purposeful time-outs.?
2. They improve your health — mind, body, and spirit.
3. They help you take better care of the essential people in your life.
4. They relieve the effects of stress.
5. They enhance your ability to focus and concentrate.
6. They provide clarity.
7. They encourage creativity.
8. They provide a safe space for self-reflection.
9. They help you establish and maintain your sense of purpose.
10. They promote self-improvement.
11. They free you from self-imposed constraints, allowing you the freedom to improve your life and make positive contributions to society.?

Do you feel that stress has affected your health? Are you looking for a mentor? Do you need more help and guidance to take a pause and find your ideal path? I'm here to help.??

Feel free to reach out to me here on LinkedIn! Together, we can determine your next steps. And I encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter for more tips to help guide you on your journey.?

Dr. Alka Patel is a thriving lifestyle medicine physician, longevity coach, award-winning international speaker, popular podcaster, and sought-after media contributor. Her research-based Lifestyle First? programmes provide the guidance you need to anchor your health through lifestyle choices — no pills required!?

Find out more today!?

https://dralkapatel.com/lifestyle-first/?

Works Cited?

1. ????Yaribeygi H, et al. The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI J [Internet]. 2017 Jul 21;16:1057–72. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28900385

2. ????Lupien SJ, et al. Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nat Rev Neurosci [Internet]. 2009 Jun 1;10(6):434–45. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2639

3. ????Sarahian N, et al. Effect of Memantine Administration within the Nucleus Accumbens on Changes in Weight and Volume of the Brain and Adrenal Gland during Chronic Stress in Female Mice. mdrsjrns [Internet]. 2014 Jun 1;17(2):71–82. Available from: https://mjms.modares.ac.ir/article-30-7153-en.html

4. ????Reznikov LR, et al. Acute stress-mediated increases in extracellular glutamate levels in the rat amygdala: differential effects of antidepressant treatment. Eur J Neurosci [Internet]. 2007 May 1;25(10):3109–14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05560.x

5. ????Moore SC, et al. Leisure Time Physical Activity of Moderate to Vigorous Intensity and Mortality: A Large Pooled Cohort Analysis. PLOS Med [Internet]. 2012 Nov 6;9(11):e1001335. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001335

6. ????Raichle ME. The Brain’s Default Mode Network. Annu Rev Neurosci [Internet]. 2015 Jul 8;38(1):433–47. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-014030

7. ????Ma X, et al. The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults. Front Psychol [Internet]. 2017;8. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

8. ????How to Ensure a Time-Out Isn’t Time Wasted | Psychology Today [Internet]. Available from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/destination-in-mind/201805/how-ensure-time-out-isnt-time-wasted