How To Enjoy Time Off Without Feeling Guilty or Lazy & Some Of My Favourite Ways To Feel Festive

The vast majority of us right now will have broken up for our Christmas break, whether it's for a couple of weeks or a few days it's incredible to be able to take time off. And of course, I can't write this post without giving a nod and a big thank you to all the people who still work over the festive period, those who are in the emergency services, catering, retail or any other job where you're still putting the time in, thank you. And I'm only taking a few days off but something that I'm determined to do this year is to take those few days without feeling incredibly guilty and worrying that I should be ticking things off my to-do list. When really all I want to do is lay on the sofa, read and eat my body weight in strawberry creams. So if that niggling guilt is something you feel then here are a few ways to try and get around it and some of my favourite things to do over the festive season that are a fail-safe way to feel joyous.

feeling guilty doesn't change anything

Anytime I take a break I always feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. There are so many thoughts that circle my brain like: I enjoy my job so I don't need time off, other people are working so why do I need a break and a number of other equally silly thoughts. It's no surprise that this mindset came from the whole hustle till you have a breakdown mentality and it's not healthy at all. Feeling constantly guilty or that you're lazy for taking a few days off doesn't change anything, it just ruins your time off so you never truly relax and are on edge constantly thinking about everything you need to do. There is no obvious way to get around this, I wish there was but a few things I do to help is schedule in some things that I really enjoy doing. So things like organising and decluttering are weirdly one of my favourite things to do with my time off as well as reading and seeing my loved ones. Knowing that I have things to do and look forward to always help me get away from that guilty feeling.

having a break is healthy

We all know it's true but having a break from anything is so healthy. It doesn't matter how much you love what you do taking a step back and having a little bit of breathing room is so good for the mind. I know that I always feel a thousand times better about a number of situations when I've taken the time to step back from them. The whole feeling guilty about taking time off is something that seems to fester more with those of us who are self-employed. Because we have the vast majority of control over how we use our day we feel like we don't warrant a break as much as other people but it isn't true. Life isn't just about working or building a business, there are so many other incredible things that it has to offer and even when you have a super high profile job days off are still a thing.

white noise is incredible for a creative block

Whenever I do finally get myself into gear to take a break that is guilt free and I don't have those niggling 'you're lazy' thoughts. I always without fail find myself feeling so much better about work and it's where my best ideas are always born. I can never work to the best of my ability when I'm super stressed and trying to fit a billion things into one day. Which when you have a job relies on your creativity being at it's best it's hard to find a balance that works, because you need a break to make sure your mind and body is functioning the best way it can but you do need to put the hours in. And so often we think breaks have to be for days or even weeks but they don't need to be. Sometimes just an hour or so taking a step back from what you're doing, especially when you've got a serious mental block can work wonders. It ties in with the whole thing taking a step back to make progress, which goes against the vast majority of things we're told but it really does work.

no-one cares as much as you do

Something I do think we all fall into the trap of is thinking that other people are so focused and obsessed with what we're doing but we never are. Sure people can make nasty comments but in reality, no-one ever cares that much what we're doing as everybody is way more focused on what they're doing. And even if people do care, it doesn't change anything, nobody can live their lives solely to please other people because that will never work out well, in the end, we can never please everybody with the choices that we make. So it's much better to make choices that sit well with us and make us happy before we even bother to worry about other people, of course, this isn't to say never think of others but living your life revolved around the opinions of others never ends well.

my favourite festive activities

I have to say, I do feel quite festive this year. Which isn't typically like me at all, usually I'm always quite down and stressed at this time of year but it feels so different this time around. But that doesn't mean I don't want to do some of my favourite festive activities. Because they're always something I savour so much and here are the things that never fail me;

Watch Wallace & Gromit
Do a jigsaw.
Pick up a pair of new pj's or sweatpants.
Read a new book.
Watch the Christmas episodes of The Simpsons.
Do some festive baking, I included a fail cookie recipe in this post [read here]
Visit my best friend.
Put fresh bedding on.
Have a bath and a real pamper night from a face-mask to doing my nails.
Clean the house, a weird tradition but having a nice clean and tidy home always makes me feel better.
Put my out of office on.