Day-Trippers

(A day in the life: studio)

‘Oh you’re sooo lucky’ they say, ‘that sounds so exciting’ they say, ‘I’ve always wanted to be my own boss’ they say… For those of you that are self-employed you’ll know what I’m saying. These are the usual sorts of things our friends, family and people we meet say to us when they hear we run our own business. And yes for the most part, being self employed and running your own business is pretty wonderful, BUT and there’s a big but. There’s a huge amount of pressure in being your own boss, and one of the biggest is knowing when and how often you should have some ‘time off’.

*laughs uncontrollably*

I’m not sure how it’s come about, but in the workplace there seems to be a real sense of guilt for taking time off. Sure, no one wants to work alongside colleagues that ring in sick at the slightest sneeze but on the other hand it’s also not cool working with people who are martyrs when it comes to taking a day off.

Alfred James, author of Pocket Mindfulness says this; ‘Work-related stress is the underlying cause of so many health problems, and relationship problems for that matter, yet we tend to associate this type of stress with the likes of big business workers like investment bankers and high flying entrepreneurs, but in truth it can happen to anyone’

I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment and truly believe that having some time off ‘as and when’ you need it (and let’s face it, our body is pretty great at telling us when we need it) makes a lot of sense. A few weeks ago I was feeling a bit ‘bleugh’, nothing major just an underlying feeling of needing a boost of energy and wanting to get some zing back.

SO, I decided to do something about it ‘tomorrow we are not going to work’ I declare, ‘we are all having a day off, let’s go to St Ives and be emmits tourists for the day!’.

*yeah, jumps up and fist punches the air!*

This is what we did: lovely roadtrip down to St Ives, lots of chatter in the car, all non-work related, did some window shopping, found Moomaids of Zennor ice-cream shop and had a yummy coffee, visited the Tate Museum (for some culture, obvs!), stopped for the most amazing chorizo burgers at the Porthmeor Cafe right on the beach then just a bit more time to  amble around the shops and buy some desirables at the famous Johns Off-License.

I’m sure there are some sensible stats relating to work productivity post rest, relax, play and that’s great but all I know is that it was…a truly wonderful day, and I don’t feel guilty about that at all.

Credit: Alfred James author of Pocket Mindfulness, Mindful Musings, Mindful Exercises.

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