Suddenly Home FIVE: Why Breaks are No Luxury<\/p>\n
In my last two posts I explained how to fend off outside distractions by making your home office into a mini-fortress. One reader thought that word was a little strong and suggested, \u201csafe haven\u201d instead.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m sticking with \u201cfortress.\u201d It reinforces my next point, that you need to break out once a day. And I mean really break out. Leave the work premises. Take an hour off and do something else. Every day.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve periodically failed to follow this advice. In the middle of a rush or book launch going for a mid-day swim felt like a luxury.\u00a0 But I always snapped back to my senses. Leaving the office for an hour a day is not a luxury. It\u2019s a necessity.<\/p>\n
My daily break usually involves exercise. I\u2019m relentless about breaking a sweat once a day. Every day around noon I head out for a walk, swim (off limits at the moment) or cross-country skiing (winter and summer: I have roller skis). I \u00a0also do Pilates as part of my morning routine.<\/p>\n
In recent years, I\u2019ve even heard a number of people in my life call me \u201cathletic.\u201d I think this is hilarious. I spent most of most \u00a0days in my life frozen in front of a desk holding my arms still at a 90-degree angle while I \u00a0tap little pieces of plastic. The biggest movement I make is crossing and uncrossing my legs. This would be cardio if I was in a coma.<\/p>\n
But to be clear: I don\u2019t exercise daily for the pure love of sport. I do it because it keeps me stay sane and productive.<\/p>\n
My \u201cbreak\u201d of choice is some kind of rigorous physical activity, but it doesn\u2019t have to be for everyone. The point is getting out and doing something else for long enough that you forget things a little. Leaving the office for a good stretch is like a pushing a refresh button on your day.<\/p>\n
Even in the best of times, which these of course aren\u2019t, when you work at home there\u2019s not much reason to go anywhere else. I don\u2019t walk to a bus or a train or even a parked car. I don\u2019t open a lock let alone cart material with me on public transit or shovel a car out. My commute consists of a 10-metre triangle between my bed, my fridge and my desk. In a crunch, I could crawl it.<\/p>\n
Still, barring real emergencies, I leave the house after lunch every day to do something else. For me, covering distances \u2013 on walking paths, ski trails or pool lanes \u2013 is the only thing that really gets me to stop thinking about work. Occasionally I combine necessity with necessity and walk to the grocery store, but it\u2019s the walk that gives me a mental carwash, not the shopping.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m lucky to have a partner who sometimes joins me on my daily excursions (my husband, who is also a home worker). Walking has been one of the constants of our professional life together. The first thing we do when we move to a new city or apartment is look for a place to walk.<\/p>\n
In Paris it was the beautiful Jardin des Plantes, a (gorgeous) ten-minute stroll from our apartment. In Toronto, our circuit was \u00a0the shore of Lake Ontario west of downtown. In Arizona we drove to a desert hiking trail 10 minutes from our house.<\/p>\n
We have walked in ugly places, too and bad scenery gives us a bit less to talk about. But the point is walking, not talking.<\/p>\n
The important thing is getting out. Everything looks different after you stop thinking about it for a while. Deadlines are more flexible; bad drafts of articles are less disastrous; even squabbles with colleagues (we have them too) seem less dramatic.<\/p>\n
Of course, the present situation has its challenges. Most of my normal activities are off limits \u2013 maybe even walking will be. The pool is closed. The snow is melting. At the moment there is still too much slush for roller skiing and who knows when our sports park is going to be off limits.<\/p>\n
But even if we go into total lockdown, I\u2019ll find a way to get out of my office to change gears. I\u2019ll do Pilates on the porch if I have to, to get my daily mental carwash.<\/p>\n
What I won’t do — as I explain in the next post — is housework.<\/p>\n
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