166: Why Taking Time off is the Ultimate Productivity Hack

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Hi everyone, it's Natalie. It's summer and that means time for vacation, right? It's actually the end of summer, but it's never too late for a vacation. But does vacation feel sometimes like more work? I want you to think about something. Imagine your life as a bustling kitchen. You're the chef juggling multiple pots and pans, creating delicious dishes day in and day out. It's easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment, constantly tending to the stove and the oven and everything else.

But what happens when the oven overheats, the food burns, the kitchen fills with smoke, the smoke alarm goes off? We all know that the ovens need to cool down to prevent damage and ensure future cooking success, right? Well, similarly, we need to step away from the constant cooking of life to recharge and cool down, preventing burnout and of course, ensuring our own optimal performance.

We have a running joke in my family about me burning the taco shells, something so simple. I don't burn everything. In fact, I'm actually a pretty good cook, but taco shells, I'm not patient enough to wait the three to five minutes for them to heat up. And I almost always start doing something else when I put the taco shells in the oven. So my new trick, by the way, and I don't think I've ever burned them since I learned this, turn on the oven.

heat it to 375, put the taco shells in just as soon as the oven is hot enough, and then turn it off, turn the oven off. The taco shells heat up, and by the time I'm ready to serve them, the oven is cooled down and nothing burns. Brilliant, isn't it? So let's talk about turning that oven off today, cooling down. Listen to this, a 2022 Pew Research Center study found that women are more likely than men to report feeling overwhelmed.

73 % versus men at 52%. This feeling of overwhelm can be directly linked to the challenges of balancing everything in the kitchen. Well, everything in life, work, family, and all the other responsibilities that we take on. I want to talk today about why we need to take that time off. And I don't just mean time off to get the house clean or plan the vacation with the family. I mean time for you.

If you're new here, my focus here on the podcast is balance your health, your faith and your family. And today it's an important topic, finding time for you as it gets started today. Would you take just a minute to subscribe to the podcast? And I would be so honored if you would leave a review and share this with someone you love who could use a little bit of inspiration today. It's how we spread helpful and meaningful topics and information to more people.

So why is it that women feel the pressure to be perfect at home, perfect with their family, perfect at work? And what are we teaching our children if we're always acting this way? We know how important rest and renewal is. We get the concept of cooling down and the kitchen that I just talked about, yet it is still so hard for us to do. For me, it's the need to feel like everyone needs me.

I want to be the one to help the kids, drive them to college, decorate apartments. Yes, we're doing that this week, but I simply can't do it all. And I have learned to set those all important boundaries that we talk about so much. For instance, think about the idea of the Sabbath, a day to step back from work, connect with God. Taking a breather shows trust and recognition that we don't have to handle everything by ourselves.

It gives us a chance to recharge and come back to our duties with fresh purpose and thankfulness for the good stuff in our lives. I'm not going to say that I'm perfect by any means, but I will give you a few examples today. We set aside a day a week this summer in our family to have family activity days. They're called fat days, just to be cool. The summer tends to fly by, of course.

And we wanted this one in our family to be fun in a new and exciting way. So we all wrote down activities that we wanted to do, like the theme park, water tubing, a movie day, a shopping day, and some new areas that we wanted to visit here in Colorado. Well, one of those days was a day at the Rockies game, the baseball team here. We like baseball. So we got about five minutes from home and I realized that I didn't have my phone is somewhat typical for me to forget my phone. My husband said, no problem, we're going to turn around. I said, nope, I'm good. I can go a day without my phone at the ballpark. And you know what? It was glorious. I knew the other kids who weren't with us could get a hold of me through my husband. And my son was with us. And we had a great time. I wasn't checking my phone for a whole day. Sometimes the unintentional can lead to some revelations.

So I encourage you to set out a day to do the same, a day without your phone. Maybe it's a Sunday, maybe it's after a certain time at night that you put your phone away. It really does make a difference. And it's somewhat of a vacation from the busy -ness, even though we think we're relaxing when we just sit down and scroll through our phone. Not having it with you can be so relaxing. Next is what I call the power of the pause.

taking time to do something just for you. It's a form of self care and a necessity, not a luxury. Going to get a massage, maybe going on a walk, that's not selfish. It's essential. So here are three areas I hope that you can find that pause. Your mental health, your relationships, and then your overall productivity. Another study I want to tell you about, a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers highlighted

positive impact of regular vacations on your mental health. The findings revealed that employees who prioritized taking time off reported significantly lower stress levels compared to those who didn't take that time off.

This may sound like a no duh, but it is crucial. That's why I want to emphasize it, to carve out moments for relaxation and simple rejuvenation, even amidst busy work schedules. Prioritizing self -care through periodic breaks can contribute to overall wellbeing and productivity in the long run of life. In the realm of relationships, let's talk about that. Another study conducted by the Families and Work Institute sheds light on the positive effects parental vacations. So according to this study's findings, parents who took vacations experienced 34 % increase in the feelings of connection with their kids. And then when we talk about productivity, a Harvard Business Review article cited research showing that vacations can help reset sleep patterns. And that, of course, leads to better focus by up to 50%. So if you have trouble staying focused, just take a vacation.

So how do you make this time for you? First, let's set boundaries. Learn to say no. I've done a whole nother podcast on this. You can scroll back through other topics. One way you can do this is when someone asks you to take on a new task, but you know it's not something that you have the capacity for, you can say, I don't have the capacity for that right now. Or, you know, that's really out of my expertise or beyond my expertise. Or here's a good one. You don't want me to do

You'll be surprised how that changes things. Do you plan vacations? Do you plan maybe even staycations? Maybe a hotel just 20, 30 minutes from your home. That's what we call a staycation. It can be just as much fun and it's going to help you feel like you really are on vacation. Also, delegate tasks. Ask for help. That's always going to help you in the long run. That includes getting the kids to help out.

I make a summer list of things everyone around the house should be doing for themselves. Remember, chores for your kids or cooking every meal. If your kids aren't helping you cook meals, well, that's not helping the whole family. And isn't that the goal? By you cooking every day. And I say this because I've been guilty of it in the past, I've learned. It's not necessarily showing love by doing all that work yourself, because what that can lead to is enabling and that will lead to burnout. Also, utilizing small pockets of time for self -care, maybe it's a walk or a bath or reading, these pockets of time can be so much more impactful than you realize. And of course, take time to connect with God. That can mean many different things. A morning devotion, a prayer walk, whatever it is for you, it will center your heart and reset your mind.

If you found these tips to be helpful, I have a few free downloads I think you will also enjoy, tips for productivity, and the Anti -Burnout Worksheet. You'll find both of those on my website, natalietysdal.com/resources. I hope this episode has blessed you. Be sure to join me again next week. Have a great day!