What Kind of Break Do You Need?

Growing up, my siblings and I would get all the cool electronic toys. They were those toys with flashing lights, loud sounds when you pushed the buttons, and maybe even a remote control. The one thing they all needed was four to six batteries. If we didn’t buy a new pack of batteries with our new toy, we weren’t going to be having fun any time soon.

Without fail, we would use up the batteries and begin to scavenge the house for new ones. Sometimes, when only one new battery was available, we started the guessing game of trying to find the “one” dead battery (when, in fact, all were dead). We thought one new battery would have enough power to carry the weight of all the dead batteries. Despite our parents telling us each time this “shortcut” won’t work, we still learned the hard way: if you don’t replace all the batteries, the device won’t last as long (and sometimes doesn’t work at all). We had to pay attention to all the batteries to make the toy work as it was meant to.

Checking Our Batteries

Time for us to identify our “batteries.” We all have different areas of our lives that call for varying levels of energy. Similar to my childhood toys, each of our “batteries” needs its own attention. Different forms of fatigue require different kinds of breaks.

Let’s say you had a day running nonstop with a never-ending to-do list and were busier than usual. What do you envision you’ll do to relax and recharge? Or, maybe it was a very socially demanding and draining day. What would you do then? In each of these scenarios, did you picture yourself recharging in the same way? Or was it different depending on the circumstance?

The idea here is that most people need different ways to recharge from different forms of fatigue, but lots of us end up using the same limited set of activities. If the way we recharge and relax always looks the same for every way we become drained, we probably need to increase our coping skills list. If we can be drained in different ways, then it makes sense that recharging will need to look different, too.  

Here are a couple of ways to be intentional in tending to our “batteries.”

Different “Batteries” to Recharge When You’re Exhausted

Physical Battery

Physical exhaustion can look like feeling lethargic, antsy,  or just generally “off.”

To recharge from physical exhaustion, we can prioritize a healthy diet, consistent restful sleep patterns, and even exercise (to kick out the “antsiness” or just move our bodies). Maybe it even looks like (begrudgingly) choosing a decaf so our bodies don’t get even more amped up with caffeine. If we’re going through physical pain or an illness, we need to give our bodies grace and allow ourselves to rest.

Mental Battery

Mental fatigue can look like our brains feeling “fried” or wishing we could “power down.” On the flip side, it can also look like racing thoughts going a mile a minute. 

To recharge, consider activities like journaling, making plans with a safe, non-draining friend, reading a fun book, or doing crafts or puzzles. Lots of workers stare at their computers all day, so maybe you need to prioritize putting your phone down and keeping the TV off. Of course, you can also get your body involved to rest the mind—some people like to do yoga, take a long walk until thoughts slow down, or exercise into a state of calm. Lastly, mindfulness is helpful, too. Some popular mindfulness activities: coloring, baking, cleaning, deep breathing, and more. 

Emotional Battery

If you’re going through a really tough season, chances are you’re running into emotional burnout. Giving yourself grace is key; tough seasons are tough, so don’t beat yourself up for “still” feeling down. 

For emotional recharge, lean into or grow your support system—this way, you can talk or at least not feel alone if you don’t feel like talking. If you love hugs, allow yourself to ask for hugs from your people or your pets. Get that extra therapy session or grow in compartmentalization skills so you can only discuss the stressful material in the session and “leave it there” between sessions. 

Get to know your style of emotional support. Do you need a good workout? Or do you need to relax with a fuzzy blanket and some good music? You may need to begrudgingly do something fun. During these seasons, small things that make us smile can be really hard to find and need extra intentionality.

Social Battery

Even the most extroverted people can feel socially drained by others. If you notice this, start to be mindful of who is more draining in your life and why. Sometimes, you might need to set temporary or long-term boundaries to protect your energies.

On the other hand, some of us need to recognize when our social batteries are not being used enough. Who can you spend time with who doesn’t drain your social battery? Who fills it up? Maybe you like your alone time, or you’ve been isolating. But an unused battery can still die. We are designed for community, so the solution to social recharging is not always and only to be alone. Find a balance and find the people who are the least draining for you.

Tending to Your Batteries

Recharging our batteries is not an exact science. Sometimes, life makes it hard to rest! Some seasons and circumstances push us to the edge of (or beyond) our batteries, and that is to be expected. Especially during these times, being creative, doing trial and error, being intentional, and even asking for support are essential to tend to our needs. The goal is to get to a place where we can check on each of our batteries often and tend to them however we can.

What kind of break do you need?