Just laying this out as a reminder to myself, and to everybody else, that breaks are GOOD FOR YOU.

Though there have been time offs, I’ve never really targeted taking weeks off the past couple of years. This time around, while I miss Japan and I was resisting the urge to book a spontaneous trip like before, I was met with an opportunity to call it ‘work’ in some form. Love Army partnered with Dance Supremacy, which was holding its world dance finals in Tokyo. Synchronicity called, and I obliged.

The event was just for a day, but I made the most of this chance to stay for a week. It was autumn season after all, one of our favorites. We simply enjoyed being there.

Don’t deprive yourself of a good reward, when you’ve done the hard work. After all, we’re here to live, not just pay the bills ’til death.

I believe a good treat helps wire yourself into doing even better. There is a challenge in this though – how to gauge yourself.

I feel like there’s a trap of the mindset in the “I deserve this” mentality, where people finally start enjoying their hard work, but don’t necessarily know how to stop. I see posts about blowing through savings without regard for anything else, and I think that’s wrong. Don’t mistake your being busy with being productive – there’s a great gap in between. Know how to gauge your measure of work. Nobody will do that for you, you just have to have the discipline to recognize this aspect of your life.

Now how does this even help with your creativity? Simple, it breaks your pattern.

We all have a ‘work pattern‘ that we do. A break, whether you travel or not, somewhat disrupts that and makes your brain see more than what it’s used to. In this phase, you get to experience more, and maybe your sense of time even elongates a bit. Never feel guilty about not working. You need this. As you savor this, you’ll find your creativity bar charge up again. I can’t tell you how it does, but I just now it does.

What if after the break you find yourself feeling depressed? That feeling that you just want to take a break again? First, I think it’s good to recognize this state. If you feel this, maybe that’s a way of recognizing that you’re not doing something you enjoy? With that, I encourage you to take a step back and evaluate where you are. This is another topic, but something worth reflecting about.

Remember, as long as your goal persists, after this break, you will only find yourself reinvigorated and fueled up to get back at it again. You’re looking at the bigger picture after all. Hopefully, you’re well recharged, with a fresh new perspective as you go back.

If you’re curious, here’s an Instagram carousel post I made featuring photos from my trip.

Good luck. Rest well.