I am coming off of a ten day break from it all: my work, business, emails and routine. Getting back online can be overwhelming for everyone, especially a busy nurse. As a nurse entrepreneur, I am always in collaboration with others. I have social media to keep up with; emails to respond to; blog posts to write; videos to produce. It can be quite challenging coming back from an extended break like this.

Well, today was check and respond to email day. I found myself replying with apologies for my slow response time, letting those I was writing know that I was away on vacation. But then I asked myself: “Isn’t that what your auto-responder away message was for?”

It is fascinating that as a nurse, I felt some sense of ‘guilt’ in taking too long to get back to a person via email.

Why do we do this to ourselves? As nurses, how come we feel we always have to cater to other people’s needs? And so immediately? Is it a ‘call bell’ syndrome that we have created in our own lives outside of our nursing careers? Well, this type of mentality has got to stop.

[Tweet “Every nurse deserves a break.”]

Here are two ways for you to get back that time for yourself, while feeling good about it:

• Realize that taking a break is the time and space needed to recharge your batteries. If you want to help people, the best way you can do it is when you feel and operate at your best. Taking shorter spurts of rejuvenation time throughout your day can help you work longer and harder at your nursing career. Every two hours or so, get up from what you are doing. Take in three deep, cleansing breaths. Move the body a bit. Stretch. Then get back to work and see just how more effective you have become.
• Reward yourself for all of the hard work that you do. So maybe you cannot justify taking some time for yourself each day. However, can you note all of the good you have done for your patients over the course of a week, a month, or even a year? How many people have you cared for? Who is better off after being taken care of by you? It’s time to celebrate your success and gift yourself the reward for your continued efforts.

How else would you allow yourself a much-deserved break? What other ideas would you add to this list? Go ahead and leave a comment below. Thanks for reading and enjoy your health today.