I was having a coffee break at work today and my friend walked in to have a chat. I like the break room because everyone in the office knows that I purposely head to the coffee room to have a complete break from work.
I like the break. I like the silence. I like the chat I like having a moment of peace during a very busy day. It was something which my therapist suggested during a BetterHelp session. It’s one of the best things I have ever done.
The break removes the pressure from my life for a couple of minutes. It allows me to rest and reset my thoughts.
Don’t get me wrong, I also really like my coffee and I do have the filter coffee on hand all day long. Which means that I don’t really need to head to the coffee room at all. I don’t go there for the coffee, I go there for the signs it gives to everyone else.When anyone sees me in the break room, they know I am physically on a break and that I won’t talk about work. I will talk to anyone and everyone who happens to walk in, but I won’t utter a single word about work.It’s really nice to be sat having a chat about where we went for dinner at the weekend with one of the women from the warehouse, one of the accountants and myself, who happens to be a data nerd. We all live very different lives and have different tastes, but somehow it just works if you ask questions.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s the highlight of my day, but it is the part of the day where I think I am taking best care of myself mentally. I can hold my steaming hot cup of coffee. I can watch that steam fly up into my face and I can just relax into it.
The pressure of the office can disappear for five minutes. There’s very few emails in the world which can’t wait a couple of seconds before I think about answering them. I don’t work in a business where there’s people’s lives in the balance. We ship furniture. If it doesn’t make the shipment today, then it’s really not the end of the world.
So I take my break every day. I never miss it. It’s not always the same couple of people I sit down with, but I do make sure that I take the mental break from work and it’s having a hugely positive affect on my mental health.
Some days I can sit there, all alone in the room. Just me sat by myself in total silence. I don’t feel the need to hunt out company. Instead, I just let the world pass by, whilst I think about me and how to make the most of today for me.
If you’ve never tried it, then you really should take my therapist’s advice and just chill for five minutes every day.