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Rest. Recovery is part of the process of getting stronger.

Being a diligent student or a working professional, can make giving yourself regular idle time to switch off a real challenge.

And if you feel guilty about it, perhaps you haven’t experienced the connection between reaching peak performance/balanced health and downtime. This means there’s an abundant opportunity to learn more about what makes you tick and what is essential for growth. Efficiency can also be measured in the way of your happiness, positive energy, level of creativity, or the discipline you show towards the responsibilities you have to tend to, etc.

Hint: giving yourself proper relaxation time has a lot to do with being your best self.

The art of switching off

Finding pockets of quiet time regularly can be quite the challenge. Especially when you have multiple responsibilities to juggle. As mentioned previously, it’s fairly easy to feel guilty for placing your own need to relax front-and-centre. It could be that there are personal and professional obligations that depend on your showing up everyday.

Or it could as well be your mind (and a sprinkle of societal norms) at play, convincing you that in order to grow and have a solid purpose in life, you need to go full-throttle nonstop. Nonetheless, it’s important to constantly remind yourself that showing up and working hard doesn’t exist without the habit of recharging.

In sport and fitness circles – as in other parts of life – it’s widely known that taking regular breaks allows the body to recover and repair. Recovery is an essential part of the success that you’re pursuing, irrespective of fitness level or kind of sport.

That’s the reason there’s inherent value in knowing when to set down the tools and activate your play mode.

Why should I?

It offers a sobering perspective to know that even machines need constant servicing to function well. And that being human, it’s natural to need a break. It’s about time we begin making relaxation and mindfulness a staple of our hectic lives.

Without sufficient downtime, the body and the mind are most likely to be lagging almost all the time. At this point, it becomes difficult to muster any motivation to apply diligence to your work and personal life for a sustained period of time.

Sure, there is a need to apply relentless effort in your studies and work to see any traction, however your body cannot sustain it forever. Actually, piling on extra work may result in a less productive lifestyle. For example: eating fast foods more regularly as a result of not having enough time for food preparation.

Prioritising your recreation by scheduling time to unplug is one of the surefire ways to create a balanced lifestyle. Of course, it might take a bit of time to get comfortable with taking breaks (and doing sweet fokol), especially at the back of what has been a stressful year. It might even be tempting to want to regain back the lost time by throwing in more work into your schedule.

However, you can make your downtime the occasions during which you connect with your family and friends, acquire a new skill or hobby, enjoy meaningful ME-moments, and more. The great thing is, downtime moments are anything you want them to be.

In the quest to rejuvenate, you could:

• Read.
• Take a trip.
• Get more sleep.
• Focus on your fitness or play sport.
• Go dancing/connect with loved ones.
• Kick start that project you’ve had written down in your notes.
• Write. When you find yourself in need of clarity, you can use writing as a form of therapy. Your notes will add perspective and be beneficial when it’s time to reflect back.

Mental benefits

These pockets of emptiness and peace in your mind that come from leisure have a great effect on your brain.

• Your mind gets sharper and retains information better when it’s allowed the time to cool off, translate/decode what you learn, and then repeat that process.
• Taking breaks in-between consuming new information helps your brain analyze and store.
• Relaxing the mind helps with bolstering our creativity and problem solving abilities.
• You get to manage your stress levels more effectively and keep anxiety or other mental health battles at arms’ length.

Or you could also simply look at it this way: placing importance on your leisure is the very act of defending your time – defending yourself. And no one deserves it more!

In 2020, just about everyone you know probably has a smartphone. You can’t go outside without seeing at least one person looking down at it as they walk, texting while they wait for their lift, or video calling in line for their coffee order. People even use their phones in places that were considered as inappropriate/unprofessional to be on your phone i.e. funerals, at work, at a date just to name a few.

Unsurprisingly, screen time has significantly increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic because people are glued to their laptops, tv’s, phones. Many of us have had limited time with friends and family this year as a way to help curb the spread of the virus. So, it’s only natural that we have turned more frequently to video games, social media and YouTube videos.

Although we are on alert level 1 – many people are still working from home on a full-time basis, people aren’t traveling or eating out as much. Many have isolated themselves from their friends and extended family members. Again, turning more frequently to screen time is a way to pass those moments of isolation. Unfortunately, this has exponentially increased screen time and may lead to anxiety, depression, lack of focus among many other things.

Fortunately, you can take steps to reduce your screen time. It just requires a bit of discipline, a willingness to change habits, and the ability to get creative. Here are tips and tricks to break away from your screen:

Stop taking technology to the bedroom

One of the biggest issues with screen time is the fact that people are committed to checking their phones and laptops before they sleep. What people don’t know is that according to a study by Harvard Health, the “blue light” which is the artificial light from our phones is detrimental to our sleep quality, and can lead to other health concerns too.

If you have the habit of checking social media before you sleep, perhaps replacing that habit with a book might be a better idea. Ideally, studies say that you should not check your phone at least two hours before you sleep.

Establish tech-free zones

Following on the bedroom tip of less technology, a good strategy is establishing areas that you can designate as “tech-free zones”. For instance, the bathroom is on the top of the list. It’s unhygienic and just distracts you from doing your business and moving on. I’d also add the dining room or anywhere else you eat. You can use this time more wisely like having quality time with your family or getting to know your friends better.

Turn the phone upside down

This is an old trick, but it works! So instead of placing your phone the normal way where the screen faces up, you can put your down so that the screen faces down, this way you’re less distracted by notifications. Subsequently, there’s less urge to look at your phone unnecessarily so.

Screen time report

If you use an iPhone, you’ll get a screen time report with the average time spent per day on your phone and how that compared to last week, whether screen time increased or decreased. You can also see this information in the settings of most Android devices. Using this tool to track screen time can significantly motivate you on decreasing screen time.

Download apps that help reduce screen time

Between our phones, laptops, and tablets, we’re constantly plugged into technology. Not only can it distract us from getting our to-do lists done, but it’s also damaging to our eyes. Say goodbye to the addicting games, text messages, and Instagram stories by downloading apps on Google play store or Apple store that help lock your phone. These apps encourage you to remain unplugged from your phone for a period of time that you choose. Apps range from Flipid, AppDetox, Social Fever, ZenScreen, etc.

Delete unnecessary apps

When you have a couple of minutes, go through your phone and remove the unnecessary ones. For instance, if you haven’t used an app in 30 days then it’s worth considering deleting it.

Pick-up a new hobby

Think about it, once you get bored, what do you first do? You instinctively grab your phone or laptop and just start browsing. To combat this, pick-up a new hobby that doesn’t require much screen time. Reading a book, any type of physical activity, or crafts are tech-free.

Turn your phone, digital media and Internet connectivity into allies that help you become an effective communicator.

Communication is undoubtedly a vital skill for every student to learn and be competent in. Over the last decade, there has been better awareness and appreciation of the inherent value of ‘soft skills’ in both academia and the workplace. This means there’s never a better time to sharpen the ways we communicate our ideas.

Innovations in online media, how education is delivered, and the ways in which people collaborate in the workplace present an opportunity to be media savvy. Due to the rise of digital media platforms, everyone is now a marketer of their own ideas and of their career.

Also, steep competition in the global/connected economy makes sharp communication skills a must-have in our toolboxes.

Writing

The main benefit of using digital platforms for processing written ideas is the improvement of your learning. For example, starting a blog site can be a helpful tool in sharpening your writing skills, literacy, and thinking/idea creation. Creating your own platform will be beneficial in building an online portfolio that will allow you to keep track of your progress and build self-awareness at the back of that.

The benefits of blogging / writing regularly:

• It encourages independent learning and the development of different thinking habits.
• It helps you take greater control of your thought process around the information and ideas you consume.
• It inspires you to be a better reader, thinker and writer.
• It supports the use of the Internet to further learn, collaborate with the world and test out information and hypotheses.
• And due to the format being similar to that of a personal diary, blogs encourage informal expression and creativity.

Verbal communication

The necessity of increased video calls in your professional life presents an opportunity to learn the art of talking to people effectively. Throughout your education and career, the level of your presentation skills will often be the difference between getting your ideas to go further, create impact or not. Because of this, it might be helpful to make it a daily or weekly habit to record yourself with your phone or laptop presenting your ideas.

Over a period of a month, you will have footage that will offer a clearer indication of practical ways to improve.

The benefits of presenting information regularly:

• The development of communication skills that will help in acing job interviews.
• Effective public speaking skills help with career progression. A strong ability to present ideas shows confidence, creativity, critical thinking, and reasoning.
• Learning to speak up in class or meetings, and promoting your ideas, whilst presenting yourself as a valuable professional.
• Delivering presentations around your work is a good opportunity to meet new people and attract growth opportunities.

Another thing to consider: the university or college’s responsibility to equip alumnae to successfully work in different industries doesn’t only translate through academic success. It’s equally important to hone the personal attributes that will enable you to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people and work in a global job market.