Why You Need a Break from Work (Montreal Recap)

In case you haven't been following me on Instagram Stories, I was in the beautiful and historic Montreal last week. I've always dreamed of visiting Montreal. The food. The language. The food. The history. The food. The architecture. The food. It was a great time, you guys. And I'll be real with you. I am not good at taking a break. Blame it on my Type A personality. Blame it on whatever.

But I think that as entrepreneurs, we struggle to step away from our business to take time for ourselves. What I have realized since starting Bourbon & Honey is that this is so counterproductive. I can't tell you the number times I have found myself stressed and unproductive, getting lost in the to-dos, feeling overwhelmed and forgetting to get to work. Nothing good comes from that headspace.

The antidote: TAKE A BREAK!

I put that in all caps for a reason. And it's really for my own benefit. I need to remind myself why it's important to take a break. So, today, I want to remind you of some reasons taking a break is necessary. Annnndddd...I want to tell you about my trip!

First things first, let's talk about why you need a break from work.

Physical Health

Chronic stress can lead to major physical health problems. I can remember those days where my to-do list was a mile too long, my focus and creativity was a mile too short. I did not eat healthily. It was a struggle to exercise. It was a bad cycle of feeling crappy and unproductive. Your body will give you physical heads up when it's time to take a break. You need to tune in and listen.

Mental Health

Okay, this a big one. I've dealt with anxiety in varying levels my whole life. Overwhelm, for me, is one of the key indicators that I need to take a break. If I look at my workload and get overwhelmed easily, I know I need to take some time, give myself a reality check and come back to my work and tackle it. One of the things I do to restore my health mentally is to take 15 minutes and spend time in my Bible. Oftentimes, a small break in devotions produces significant shifts in perspective, and I can come back to my work with a renewed sense of purpose and calling.

When you are feeling unmotivated, unfocused and unproductive, tune in and allow yourself to take a break. Your future self will thank you that you did.

And, I know this from personal experience. Before Montreal, the last vacation I had was five years ago. That's a LONG time to allow stress to do its thing. And taking a break last week was hard for me. But I am glad I did it. Because I get to write this recap with new life. I'm inspired and motivated to take my business to new heights now. Sometimes you have to put physical and mental space between you and your work in order to renew your motivation, focus and inspiration.

And now for the recap!

Montreal was awesome, you guys. So beautiful and delicious.

We stayed at this cute condo close to the city center. And there was most adorable boulangerie just down the block. So every day I  would get up and run over to the bakery and order un cafe. In English. Because apparently, I forgot my 12 years of French lessons.

We spent so much time in Old Montreal, eating poutine at the local pubs, walking up and down the cobbled streets, taking in the history and architecture. We visited a lot of the churches and museums in the area, enjoying the rich history of the city.

We ate at the infamous Schwartz's Deli. And I don't eat a ton of meat, but I could eat like four of those sandwiches. Just down the street was the vegan restaurant, Aux Vivres, where I fell in love with the best tzatziki I have ever eaten. We also ate at Cacao 70, where we indulged in chocolate and waffles. The rest of the week was filled with chocolat au pain and baguettes!

We also visited some awesome exhibits like the Biodome and the Montreal Science Center. We learned all about ecosystems, the circulatory systems of animals and the business of imagination. I got to let out the science side of me. Seriously, I dig chemistry and biology. And I'll be honest - this was my favorite part of the whole trip.

And I would love to tell your guys all the stories from my trip, but this post would be a novel. So, I'll leave it there. But I'll be back very soon.

What's your favorite way to take a break?