Are you snapping at colleagues who don't remember to put milk in your tea, daydreaming your way through meetings or sleeping under your office desk? You know it's time to take off when you see these 10 signs.
1. Stubborn to-do lists
When we overwork, we tend to get less done. If the same to-do items keep showing up on your list, it could be a sign that your productivity is slowing. Get away to refresh yourself. When a Stanford researcher ordered male basketball players to get more than 10 hours sleep a night, their performance increased significantly – free-throw and three-point shooting went up by an average of 9 per cent.1
2. Smartphone obsession
Put that smartphone down! If you can’t stop checking emails, monitoring tweets or if visions of management meetings plague your dreams, you’ve developed an unhealthy obsession with work. It’s time to tune out.
3. Brain freezes
You send an email about major results and forget to attach the company report – or you turn up half an hour late to an off-site meeting. You, my friend, are experiencing frequent brain freezes. Your mind needs a break!
4. Over-sharing
Can your friends rattle off your colleagues’ names by heart? Do new acquaintances get to hear all about your boss’s annoying habits at parties? If work is all you can talk about, it’s a sign you’re spending too much time on it. A holiday will bring a fresh perspective.
5. Moon tan
You arrive at work in the dark, don’t see daylight all day and leave well after sundown. Can you visualise the feeling of sand between your toes? If not, it’s time to work on that tan.
6. Equating long hours with winning
When you talk about your 14-hour days, are you secretly proud that you trumped your colleague’s 12-hour day? The jokes on you, I’m afraid – working ridiculous hours may make you feel important, but it’s more important to take time out.
7. No 'me time'
If you constantly cancel plans with friends and never get to start writing that novel, it’s a sign you need more time for yourself.
8. Colds and sniffles
Lack of sleep and an overstretched mind can have long-term effects on your health. High-stress levels can also make you sick, according to research from Carnegie Mellon University, among others.2,3
9. Envy
Started posting snarky comments on Instagram? Does your Facebook feed read like an obituary? Your friends are out enjoying themselves. It’s time to join the living.
10. Career rut
Focusing on the day to day can get you in a career rut. If it’s been some time since you made a move, consider taking time out to reassess the direction of your career. Sometimes you need space to get clarity.
Think you might be in need of a holiday? Take time out to truly renew, so that when you get back to the office you’ll be at your most productive.
Sources
1Schwartz T. (2013) ‘Relax! You’ll Be More Productive’, New York Times, February 9, Click here for source
2Cohen S. et al (2012) ‘Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk’, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Click here for source
3Kwoh L. (2012) ‘Hazard of the Trade: Bankers' Health’, The Wall Street Journal, February 15, Click here for source
