ITTY-BITTY BRAIN BREAKS
I have a discipline of taking what I call “itty-bitty brain breaks.” When I’ve been working in front of my computer for waaaay too long and my brain starts turning to mush, or I’m bouncing from one critical task to another with bells going off in my head like a pinball machine but nothing is REALLY being accomplished… that’s when I know it’s time to STOP and take an itty-bitty brain break.
It’s never for long… just a few short minutes to re-center myself. To focus on what’s REALLY important. (Like, I dunno… breathing, for one thing. I seem to forget to do this when I’m stressed! LOL!)
So, I stop… close my eyes… take a few deep breaths… and pray.
My friend wisely reminded me the other day, “When God is in His rightful place - in the center of our lives - everything else falls into it’s rightful place as well.” TRUTH!
But, sometimes when I’m stressed, or when life is chaotic, (is there ever a time when this ISN’T the case???) I forget this discipline. In fact, I sometimes forget ALL my good habits. I think I can’t afford them. I think other things are more important right now. I think, “I’ll get back to my good habits when things calm down a bit!” And I push most (if not all!) of my good habits (like resting well, eating well, breathing, and taking itty-bitty brain breaks!) aside.
Maybe you do this, too? But… we do so to our own detriment.
A few weeks ago, my boss resigned. So did another co-worker in my department. Not only was this absolutely heart-wrenching, but to make matters worse, my plate, (already overflowing onto the table!) became… well… just a ridiculous pile of slop.
The Monday following their departure I was sitting at my desk trying desperately to make sense of my now “sloppy” workload, and as a result I was very, VERY focused.
For hours.
And even though my brain was becoming mushier by the moment and my productivity was sliding downhill, I pressed on. And on. And on.
For hours.
If only I had obeyed that still small voice, telling me it was time for an itty-bitty brain break. If only I had listened to the ache in my back from sitting hunched over my keyboard staring at my screen for far too long, or to the pounding in my skull from the frustrated neurons fighting in my head. If only I had STOPPED for just a few brief moments…
If only I had done ANY of those things, I might have realized that the bathtub in our upstairs bathroom was slowly overflowing, flooding the hallway and destroying the ceiling above our dining room below. I would have prevented the sopping ceiling from coming down on me as I struggled to push the piano out of the room and into the safety of the living room. I would have avoided the complete disruption of our lives over the next few weeks, as our bathroom floor was stripped down to the subfloor, (with the sink in the other room and the toilet in the bathtub!) our entire dining room of furniture and fixtures was vomited into our living room, and 8 giant industrial fans and 2 even bigger dehumidifiers were consistently blowing away ANY hope of us sleeping in our home until their deafening din was silenced.
Ohhh… if only, if ONLY!!!
Please hear me on this… this has nothing to do with my co-workers leaving, or what my new workload is like, or any other number of things going on in my life. (Like I said, when is life NOT crazy???)
Instead, as always, it has EVERYTHING to do with obedience. With LISTENING. With DISCIPLINE. With doing what I KNOW I should do. Even when I don’t think I can. Even when it’s NOT what the WORLD would tell me is the right thing to do. Even when it’s completely counter-intuitive! I mean, it makes absolutely NO sense to STOP working when there is SO much that MUST get done, in SO little time!
But, that is EXACTLY when it is MOST important to stop… close my eyes… take a few deep breaths… and pray. I know it’s really hard to believe, but when you take a break and allow yourself to rest in Him, you accomplish waaaay more when you return to work. Because rest is rewarded… you are blessed by rest.
When I’m too “busy” (again, read “Bound Under Satan’s Yoke!”) to fall back on the disciplines I know are right, (like resting well, eating well, breathing, and taking itty-bitty brain breaks!) it means I’m working with a spirit fear. I’m afraid if I stop (even for an itty-bitty brain break!) I’m going to fail. I’m afraid I won’t get everything done I need to get done. I’m afraid of not meeting my objectives. I’m afraid of letting people down. I’m afraid, I’m afraid, I’m afraid!
Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God gave us a spirit NOT of fear but of power and love and self-control” (emphasis mine) but I have to CHOOSE to listen. To obey. To fall back on my disciplines - my good habits! - and DO what I KNOW is right. To take an itty-bitty brain break and stop… close my eyes… take a few deep breaths… and pray.
And, maybe turn around and see if there’s 3 inches of water flowing out of the bathroom into the hallway…