Tatiana D.

Photography by Mason Schlopy

If you're reading this, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the last time you allowed yourself to truly take a break.

Taking breaks is something we often overlook in the constant rush of our daily lives. In today's society, constantly being on the go, juggling hundreds of different responsibilities at once, working for hours and hours on end is something that has been recently romanticized. Though this might seem ideal, to have so many things going at once, when is it time to take care of ourselves? Though we might convince ourselves we have everything under control, and being on this constant rush of adrenaline is the only way we seem to work and being under pressure is what essentially drives us to continue working. This is ideal, though not the case for everyone. 

Your body and your mind send signals when they need a break. Learning to catch and respect those signals is important for maintaining both our physical and mental health. Sometimes it may be easy to fool ourselves into thinking we're "too busy" to take a break and or engage in self care, maybe it's a long to-do list, a looming deadline, or a research engaged project that may feel like it's taking days to complete. This notion of not having time for a break is many times very counterproductive. In the long run, we will be less effective and more stressed if we don't allow for even a very small window of time to ourselves. In fact, taking a few minutes to engage in something enjoyable can be one of the most important steps toward setting ourselves up for future success. 

Personally, I find that every time I consciously take time off from work, even for the shortest period, and do something that makes me happy, that makes all the difference in my productivity. Whether that be calling friends and family from home and catching up with old friends, FaceTiming my family just to see my dog, reading a few pages of one of my favorite books, or mindlessly scrolling through TikTok, these are the little acts of self-care that act as a mental reset. These small instances of happiness buffer the stress and allow me to refocus on my tasks at hand with a renewed and clearer mind. 

The truth is, taking a break does not equate to wasting time but is an investment in one's psychological and physical health. When we allow ourselves time off-even temporary-we come back with greater energy, imagination, and are ultimately more productive. Our brains are like any other muscle; for maximum efficiency, they require rest. Working them beyond their capacity without rest leads only to diminished returns. So, allowing oneself these moments of rest and resetting one's mind become not just an act of care for oneself, but an important strategy in the way to success that is sustained. 

In today's rapid world, when it feels like there is always more to do and never enough time, taking breaks sounds indulgent or even impossible, but this is instead one of the most important times to take a break. Long-term productivity, lower levels of stress, and the prevention of burnout-all these require regular breaks, even very short ones. So the next time you feel overwhelmed or "too busy" to step away, remember that taking a break isn't about losing time-it's about gaining the mental clarity and energy you need to continue performing at your best.

Tatiana D., Syracuse University

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