Over the recent long holiday weekend, my husband, son and I traveled to visit my husband’s family. Most of the times we visit, I take my laptop and projects to work on while I am there. Rarely is there a time when I am not working on something new or developing materials for a class. This time, I chose not to take my laptop or any of my work with me. I’ve been feeling like I’ve been, as the saying goes, burning the candle at both ends. Do you ever find yourself feeling the same way?
So, off I went for the weekend without any training materials or computer. I did remember to pack a good novel a friend had loaned to me. For the first couple of hours on the road, I felt lost not having my work with me. How warped is that? Soon I started feeling my shoulders let down and relax. I sat in the back seat with my infant son and played and laughed. Wow…did I ever need that time away!! I really enjoyed not checking email or working on the computer over the long weekend.
I’m a little frustrated with myself that I didn’t take a break like that sooner. I’m so careful about advising others to take breaks. I’m a firm believer in breaks when I do training classes for Versitas. I encourage my students to get up, walk around, get a drink, etc., even when I’m only doing a half-day of training. I suggest that they not look at email or go back to their desks if we are training on-site. I even encourage them to get outside during lunch, if possible, when I do full-day classes.
I think that it is fascinating how trainers are so focused on taking care of everyone else, but often neglect themselves. We are so used to taking care of everything in the classroom, making sure that all questions are answered and that everyone understands the subject matter we are covering. I think this applies to our time in the classroom, but often flows over into the rest of our lives, too. In these tough economic time when we are working so hard to make ends meet and keep ourselves marketable, we need to make sure and take a break once in a while to refresh ourselves.
Our training managers and students will appreciate us for it!
