If you’re like me, then you have an incessant need to finish everything all the time, ahead of schedule. There’s an entire, two-page bulleted list for you to accomplish each morning, and if you don’t reach those goals, you consider yourself a slacker who will never amount to anything.

Well, I’m here to tell you (and remind myself): stop it! That type of thinking is extremely demoralizing and it forms negative mentality. The truth is this: not only are breaks healthy for you, establishing good boundaries for later in life, but they also increase your productivity in the long run. Why spend all of your energy focusing on one aspect of your agenda and then burning out for the rest of the day, when you can take small intervals of rest time for a better result?

Things to keep in mind:

-If you’re working on something important, take breaks every 20-25 minutes. The breaks should be 10-15 minutes long and it’s best not to look at your phone or any technology. Just unwind!

-Know yourself. If you find that you’re unable to get back to work after taking a break, have someone hold you accountable.

-Rest days are super important! Take a day off to relax, participate in a favorite hobby, or spend time with family or friends. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself so stressed that you might activate… a mental breakdown. Been there, done that; not fun.

-Accept that some days, you will only get a little bit done, and that’s okay. No need to strive for perfection constantly.

-Jam to some music! This always relaxes me, especially if it’s a pretty day out 🙂

Hope this helped! How do you cope with too many things on your schedule? I use to-do lists a lot, but I’ve become better with accepting the fact that it’s not possible for me to do everything at once. Prioritization is key!