{"id":11924,"date":"2020-02-18T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=11924"},"modified":"2022-09-01T03:54:25","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T03:54:25","slug":"how-to-take-a-think-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-take-a-think-break\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Take a Think Break"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Takeaway:<\/b>Think breaks are valuable for all sorts of reasons. I chatted with Mike Schmitz about the value he sees in think breaks, and walk you through the do\u2019s and don’ts for planning a break of your own. This is the second part of a two-part series. Read the first segment, What I Learned from my Bill Gates-inspired \u201cThink Week, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Estimated Reading Time:<\/b>4 minutes, 33s.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\r\n

\"How<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Before we dig into how to conduct a think break<\/a> of your own, I want to give a huge shout-out to my friend, Mike Schmitz. I enlisted Mike\u2019s help in writing this article, partly because he\u2019s an advocate for think breaks, and partly because he discusses them often on his great podcast,\u00a0Focused<\/a>. In addition to co-hosting Focused, Mike and his wife, Rachel, have five kids. It was great hearing his perspective on how he keeps his time balanced and sees the value in think breaks, even when he has so much going on at work and at home.<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Last week I published a longread on what I learned while taking a think week<\/a>, inspired by one of Bill Gates’ yearly rituals. On the surface, a think break may seem out-of-reach for a lot of people\u2014but I’d argue that taking one is possible regardless of your situation, provided you plan ahead of time. My friend Mike Schmitz (mentioned in the box above) also pushes back against the idea that think breaks are an unnecessary\u2014or even selfish\u2014luxury, including when you have a busy family life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThe clarity the break provides makes everything else in your life easier,\u201d Mike told me. \u201cThink about the last time you flew on an airplane. They tell you before you even take off to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting anyone else. I view the think break as my oxygen mask.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Mike\u2019s think breaks are usually a day long. He completely disconnects during that time\u2014it\u2019s as though he\u2019s on a business trip. He makes up for this by taking the kids out every few months so his wife Rachel can have the house to herself or take a weekend on her own. Much like my think week, the insights Mike has gained from his think breaks are illuminating.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019ve collected a few do\u2019s and don’ts if you\u2019re wanting to plan a think break of your own. Many of these were learned during my own think week\u2014and a few I got from Mike before taking mine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Happy thinking!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Do:<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n