{"id":7372,"date":"2025-03-06T21:24:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T21:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/how-can-you-take-a-break-without-feeling-guilty\/"},"modified":"2025-03-18T15:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T15:15:12","slug":"how-can-you-take-a-break-without-feeling-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/how-can-you-take-a-break-without-feeling-guilty\/","title":{"rendered":"How can you take a break without feeling guilty?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7372\" class=\"elementor elementor-7372 elementor-7341\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3b18cb64 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-stretched elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"3b18cb64\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;stretch_section&quot;:&quot;section-stretched&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-44b186be\" data-id=\"44b186be\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-74c881ec elementor-widget elementor-widget-jkit_post_title\" data-id=\"74c881ec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"jkit_post_title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div  class=\"jeg-elementor-kit jkit-post-title jeg_module___69d07e4e14545\" ><h1 class=\"post-title style-color \">How can you take a break without feeling guilty?<\/h1><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3785fed5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3785fed5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-67e6b84\" data-id=\"67e6b84\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-97b8ba8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"97b8ba8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d5ab0d6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3d5ab0d6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>How can you take a break without feeling guilty?<\/b><\/h2><div><b><br><\/b><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We&#8217;d love to tell you today that we&#8217;ve found the perfect recipe for feeling less guilty about being tired during the day. A kind of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chicken broth for fatigue<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or an infallible Ricardo recipe (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the best!<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, such a culinary art does not yet exist.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guilt of taking breaks during our working hours doesn&#8217;t seem to dissolve in the pot of time, even if a good company culture has been put in place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certain beliefs taint the way we perceive breaks and rest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stubborn beliefs that don&#8217;t go away with a stroke of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tide to go<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">such as:<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My colleagues will judge me if I take a break.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&#8217;ll take a rest while I&#8217;m on vacation (or when I&#8217;m dead).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just one more week of intense effort, and then I promise to slow down.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><div><br><\/div><div><br><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Changing our way of thinking takes time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Above all, it takes more than a promising article that hands you &#8220;5 foolproof tools for taking a guilt-free break&#8221; on a silver platter, with no thought behind it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So today, instead of promising you a simple 5-step recipe, let&#8217;s instead take the time to reflect on what may be preventing us from<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> building a healthier relationship with the break at work.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Our guilt-inducing beliefs about taking a break<\/b><\/h3><div><b><br><\/b><\/div>\n<p><b>Taking a break means losing work time <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We often have this idea that more hours spent at work = more work accomplished. We know the equation isn&#8217;t that simple. And yet, sitting in front of your screen, exhausted or unfocused, sometimes seems more acceptable than taking 15-20 minutes to relax. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is one of the pitfalls of presenteeism: being there without actually being effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We understand rationally that nobody can be productive 100% of the time for a full 8-hour day. We wouldn&#8217;t give our colleagues and teams that kind of stress. But when it comes to ourselves, it&#8217;s a different story. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We put ourselves under enormous pressure not to stop, as if every minute had to be justified. For ourselves, not for others. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What if we learned to be as kind to ourselves as we are to others?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Fear of judgment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> :<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;If I take a break, people will think I&#8217;m not working hard enough.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This thinking is deeply rooted, especially in environments where performance is still measured by time spent in front of the screen rather than the quality of the work accomplished. The way others look at us influences our habits more than we realize. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, one of the first comments we receive when installing a cabin is always the same: &#8220;Will my employer know if I&#8217;m using it?&#8221; We take the time to reassure the team every time: the confidentiality of reservations is guaranteed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This concern speaks volumes about our collective sense of guilt about taking a break. Before we even consider the benefits it could have on our well-being at work, the first reaction is often fear of how others will look at us.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The illusion of constant productivity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> :<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We tend to believe that our attention span should be constant throughout the day. But our bodies and minds don&#8217;t work that way. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of listening to these signals, we try to ignore them. We fight fatigue with yet another cup of coffee and force ourselves to stay focused at all costs. But forcing ourselves doesn&#8217;t mean progress. Our performance shouldn&#8217;t be measured by the time we spend fighting fatigue, but by the quality of what we achieve when we&#8217;re really at our best. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An overloaded mind inevitably becomes less efficient, less creative, less able to retain information and accumulates errors. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What if we stopped feeling guilty about these natural energy dips? What if we saw them instead as precious indicators?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>And what about the fear of doing nothing?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"43\"><br><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laziness has long been seen as a sin in Western societies, and remains widely associated with a negative connotation throughout the world.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isn&#8217;t that where the guilt really comes from? The fear of never doing enough and wasting our time?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doing nothing, even for a short moment, is still widely associated with a negative connotation around the globe.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But doing nothing, taking breaks, and napping don&#8217;t necessarily slow us down. They can even become allies in our quest for performance. They can become tools that help us move forward.<\/span><\/p><p><br><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you create mental space,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we unclog our work schedule,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you stop constantly acting with urgency,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We&#8217;re finally turning our attention to other ways of thinking, creating, sharing and solving problems.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s why we need to work on taking our breaks guilt-free.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We need to name the shame we may feel when faced with the need to take a moment alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So as not to be alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To normalize, one pause at a time, the need to slow down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So that collectively, we can finally let go of the old beliefs that slow us down at work.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dcfe46c elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"dcfe46c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f13287 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"9f13287\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-5aa2b94 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5aa2b94\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-a5d34f8\" data-id=\"a5d34f8\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24e37c0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"24e37c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ME-blackscreen-1-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7358\" alt=\"Relaxation technics acquisition with Recharjme to power up your nap at work\" srcset=\"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ME-blackscreen-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/recharjme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ME-blackscreen-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/recharjme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ME-blackscreen-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/recharjme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ME-blackscreen-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/recharjme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ME-blackscreen-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-20364d7\" data-id=\"20364d7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a3eabdc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a3eabdc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>We&#8217;re proud to have Marie-Eve St-Germain on our team. She specializes in deep relaxation techniques, founded her company Espace mental to democratize napping and the right to rest, and has been working for 1 year at Recharjme in customer experience. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Learn more about her work at <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/espacemental.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">espacemental.com<\/a><em> .<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e9ed01 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"7e9ed01\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-093950b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"093950b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>March 6, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-485642e elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"485642e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<script>\n\t\t\t\t\t\twindow.hsFormsOnReady = window.hsFormsOnReady || [];\n\t\t\t\t\t\twindow.hsFormsOnReady.push(()=>{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thbspt.forms.create({\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tportalId: 4499273,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tformId: \"202416f3-184f-4652-a5a7-99c5c1ba4428\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttarget: \"#hbspt-form-1775271502000-9972034465\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tregion: \"na1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t})});\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hbspt-form\" id=\"hbspt-form-1775271502000-9972034465\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-3a53657b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3a53657b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-35d47283\" data-id=\"35d47283\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4dcfdae6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4dcfdae6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px;text-align: left\">Share:  <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;text-align: left\"><\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc0121f elementor-widget elementor-widget-elementskit-social-share\" data-id=\"fc0121f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"elementskit-social-share.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ekit-wid-con\" >\t\t<ul class=\"ekit_socialshare\">\n                            <li class=\"elementor-repeater-item-5af525f\" data-social=\"facebook\">\n                    <div class=\"facebook\">\n                        \n                        <i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"icon icon-facebook\"><\/i>                        \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"elementor-repeater-item-2a6c6d4\" data-social=\"twitter\">\n                    <div class=\"twitter\">\n                        \n                        <i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/i>                        \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                <\/li>\n                                            <li class=\"elementor-repeater-item-eb441ea\" data-social=\"linkedin\">\n                    <div class=\"linkedin\">\n                        \n                        <i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"icon icon-linkedin\"><\/i>                        \n                                                                                            <\/div>\n                <\/li>\n                                    <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;d love to tell you today that we&#8217;ve found the perfect recipe for feeling less guilty about being tired during the day. A kind of Chicken Bouillon for fatigue or a foolproof recipe \u00e0 la Ricardo (The best!). <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, such a culinary art does not yet exist&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7372"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7526,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7372\/revisions\/7526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recharjme.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}