Need a Break From Life? Here’s How and When To Do It

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Last Updated on May 16, 2023

If you’re getting so overwhelmed by your daily schedule that you’re left feeling drained, exhausted, and just done, consider it a wake up call. We could all use a break from life here and there.

Breaks are SO very necessary for our overall mental health and wellbeing. Even our productivity! You’re probably familiar with the importance of taking small, regular breaks throughout the day. But what if that doesn’t seem like enough?

If you’ve been burnt out for far too long, what you might really be in need of is a BIG break. Basically, you need a break from life! A real interruption in your day-to-day to let you fully recharge to your fullest potential. 

If little breaks just aren’t cutting it for you, here are some REAL ideas when you need a break from life for your mental health!

This post is all about feeling like you need a break from life.

Is it OK to take a break from life?

It is absolutely OK if you need a break from life when you know you’re on the brink of burnout. In fact, it’s a smart preventative measure for your mental health. This may be as extreme as needing to quit a job ASAP, or even just asking for a week off to reset. Whatever is feasible, just make sure not to neglect your mental health.

If you aren’t thriving and feeling like you can handle what life is throwing at you, your performance will suffer anyway. So don’t ignore the warning signals. Check in with yourself often and assess what it is you truly need. And never let anyone make you feel guilty for prioritizing your wellbeing, that’s for sure!

When do you know you need a break from life?

Do you ever catch yourself saying things like…

• “If I can just get through this week”
• “I just need to stick it out for a few more days”
• Or even more obviously, “I desperately need a break”

If you’ve been pushing yourself for quite some time now, you probably need a break from life. And maybe it feels like a long break or a vacation just isn’t practical, so you feel the pressure to just keep pushing along.

Or, worse, say you take a vacation and come back to work, except you don’t feel refreshed at all. It just seems like you picked up where you left off in the cycle of dreading the everyday. 

THIS is precisely a good example of a warning bell letting you know that you might just need to take a break from life. When I say that, I essentially mean changing your life as it currently stands.

For example, it could be your sign to quit your job. It could be a sign to take a semester off. It could be a sign to change your living situation. 

That’s up to you to evaluate, but ultimately, you need to consider taking a REAL break from what you’re currently doing in some form.

So, now you understand when. But what about “how?”

I’ll take you through your options starting with the smallest things you can do, leading up to the bigger things you can do.

How do you take a break in life?

Below are several ideas, ranging from simple to more extreme, for when you need a break from life. Of course, the first course of action should always be to recharge regularly through small breaks during each day. It’s best to first ensure that your coping skills and mindset are where they should be before considering bigger moves like quitting a job.

Remember to assess the steps you already take, your burnout level, and what you are able to handle. Remember, too, that bad days and bad weeks always pass! So choose wisely so that you can take the action that’s appropriate for you.

Take time to recharge regularly

If you don’t have vacation days, or you just can’t miss out on the money, you want to maximize the break time in your everyday life in any way that you can.

Actually schedule a few dedicated hours during each week to have time completely to yourself. Leave weekends open to relaxing if you can. Maybe even do household chores less often if you can get away with it.

You can schedule time to do something fun, or just nothing at all! And don’t feel guilty about doing “nothing,” either. We all need time to truly recharge and not have a single responsibility sometimes. 

This is a great lifestyle habit to prioritize. If it feels like you don’t have time to do so, make the time! Even if it means getting up an hour early or staying up an hour late to give yourself this precious time. 

Did you know that I offer a printable mental health journal that will help you overcome unhelpful behaviors and negative thought processes?

As someone who’s always looking for ways to manage it all and keep my mental health in a stable place, I knew just how important it was to create a resource that will actually help you out with this.

Go check it out and see the printable mental health journal for yourself!

{RELATED POST: Sunday Journal Prompts – 7 Prompts to Rest & Reset}

Vacation

If you haven’t given a vacation a try, you might want to do so before considering more extreme options like quitting your job. 

So many people have vacation days that just go completely unused. Why do that?! It doesn’t have to be a wildly expensive tropical beach vacation, either. 

It can be as simple as spending a week in a city a couple hours away from you. Just something to get you away from your day to day can be so helpful when you need a break from life.

Make sure to prioritize both rest and fun. While it may be tempting to overbook yourself with tourist activities, this can be stressful. Make sure your vacation is a balanced one. Book a few activities (I like to use Viator! They have a lot of good deals on activities), but make sure you’re getting in much-needed rest, too!

Staycation

This can be an especially beneficial option if you’re feeling burnt out. 

Have you ever taken the time to fully enjoy being at home? This is the ultimate “need a break from life” idea because it involves no planning of hotels, flights, excursions, etc. So less stress there!

But remember: staying at home and resting on a staycation means not doing any work, just like a regular vacation. No cleaning, no tending to work emails, or other typical responsibilities. 

Now, both the vacation and staycation can be helpful for your health and wellness from time to time. But there’s a problem they don’t fix. And that’s…

that the work will be there when you get back.

If that statement doesn’t freak you out, and you can sit with it, then maybe a vacation or staycation is all you really need! Great! But if that statement makes you realize that the problem runs deeper, it might be wise to consider some life changes.

For example…

Get rid of some obligations

If there truly is just too much on your plate, you might need to consider letting go of some obligations.

For example, at one point I was juggling school (A LOT of school, typically 20 units/semester), a job (25 hours a week), and assisting in a research lab (10 hours a week). 

It truly got to be too much, and I realized that the research lab was serving me the least during that time. So of all things that I could “get away” with quitting, I knew the research lab should probably go.

I figured that when it came down to getting the experience for my resume, I could always do so at another time, even after I graduated college. So it wasn’t a necessity. 

Maybe you have something on your plate that you can give up too. Lightening your load in any way that you can will help you feel like you’re getting some break time.

Even if you can’t outright quit something, you may be able to reduce your hours doing it.

Experiencing anxiety in your daily life? You should grab my (free!) printable anxiety tracker!

{RELATED POST: Journal Prompts for Anxiety – 42 Prompts When You’re Overwhelmed}

Quitting your job

I understand that this won’t be feasible for everyone, and that it certainly takes some planning and prep work to pull off. But sometimes, if you realize your work environment is toxic, quitting is necessary.

I once worked a job that was so unbearably toxic that I just had to cut the cord before I could get another job lined up. 

I always wanted to avoid this at all costs, but I looked at my savings account and decided that this was the best decision for me.

And I’ll be honest, of course I was scared at first. The unknown of not knowing when you’ll make income again is always scary. 

But since I knew that I had a comfortable safety net to hold me over for some time, I ultimately understood that I needed to do this. And it turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made for my mental health.

During the time I was out of work, I cherished my extra free time and got to focus entirely on school (eh, and job hunting took up some time too, but it was still a much better situation!).

My overall mood and mental wellness was on such a high note, and when I finally landed my next job, I was ready to take it on instead of feeling so burnt out!

Hey, are you struggling with your mental health? Or just want to get better at tackling life’s daily stressors? Talking to an online therapist can really help you out. I always recommend Online Therapy because it’s a comprehensive, effective online therapy toolkit at an affordable monthly cost. Get 20% off your first month at the link below!

{RELATED POST: 60 Journal Prompts to Find Your Purpose When You’re Stuck}

Taking a semester off

If you’re a student and school is a major source of stress for you at the moment, you might want to see if it’s possible to take a semester off.

Some schools and financial aid programs allow the option to take a semester off without it impacting your aid or grades. 

There is no shame in doing this if you need to. If you’re afraid of it “putting you back,” what is 4-6 months of your life? A break like this won’t hold you back in the long run. School will be there when you’re ready to return!

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No matter if you make a big change or a small change when you need a break from life, your mental health should always come first. 

Remember that if your mental health isn’t in a good place, you won’t be able to perform your best anyway. 

That’s why it’s so important to evaluate if it’s time to make a big change like quitting a toxic job, taking a semester off of school, or letting go of some obligations. Or, maybe you just need a smaller break like a vacation or staycation.

Think hard about what your situation calls for and see which of these options is best for you!

Take care.

More Self Care You’ll Love

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LIKE THESE TIPS WHEN YOU NEED A BREAK FROM LIFE? PIN THEM FOR LATER!