George Bernard Shaw said it best: “We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” Sometimes you just need a break from it all. A few minutes to distract your brain, or even—dare I say it?–have a bit of flat-out fun. For some that means making a beeline for some kind of snack, and that’s fine. But here are some other things you can try. (And one even lets you help the hungry as you have fun.)
10-Minute Fun Breaks:
Play with the dog
Watch the birds (or squirrels) in the feeder
Grab your camera, go outside, and take pictures
Go to the playground and watch the kids. Better yet, join them on the swings, slide, etc.
Take a cat nap (Hey, the older I get, the more fun sleep is!)
Play a quick game of ping-pong
Put on your favorite music and crank it up!
Color (and feel free to go outside the lines).
Watch funny videos on Wimp.com
Longer Breaks
Play cards or a board game
Call a friend you haven’t seen in a while
Paint a picture—no, not with words. With actual paints and a canvas!
Read one chapter of a book
Games to put on your smart device:
Hanging with Friends—gives hanging out a whole new meaning
Word Streak with Friends—For those who love Boggle (and if you don’t, what’s wrong with you??)
Online fun:
Test your vocabulary AND help the hungry—
Electronic Poetry: We all have a poet trapped inside—
An online game for the Boggle folks—
Or you can just to go www.wordgames.com and take your pick!
Okay, have at it! And have fun.
Satan Speaks to Christian Authors
Color (and feel free to go outside the lines). Color–yes! But I can’t go outside the lines…
I can, however, start five new pages if I only feel like coloring with orange!
Thank you for that dispensation! Last year I was hooked on on-line Scrabble. This year it’s Candy Crush. Don’t knock it ’til you try it!
I love this post, Karen, AND I love the picture of the dog! I love funny videos and I hadn’t even heard of wimp.com plus I can’t believe how many games are on that wordgames.com. That one might be too dangerous for me to look at. 🙂
My favorite writing break is to crank up the music and dance. I also recently discovered Just Dance videos on YouTube which are super fun. Thanks for all the great ideas!
Great reminder in balance. That’s what I love about these blogs – you guys cover it all!!!
These are some great suggestions, Karen. My favorite break from anything is to sit at the baby grand we bought with my mother’s legacy and play until it feels like I should quit. It might be 3 minutes, it might be 30, but whatever it is, I rise from the bench with my battery recharged.
My next most favorite is watching the birds at our feeders. We feed the birds, and the birds feed the Cooper’s hawk. You can hear the hawk visit by the thuds of little birds against the kitchen windows. Nature raw in tooth and claw, but at least the hawk usually misses.
Nice. Awesome reminder to us all.
I take breaks to eat, use the restroom, take a power nap, and sleep. I also try to take a break every hour: I stand up, walk around my chair, sit down, and then it’s back to writing. (I do other things, too. Life’s not all about writing!)
Thank for for these ideas, Karen, but above all, for the whole concept! One of the challenges of the writing life aka not-going-to-an-office-which-allows-time-for-coffee-breaks-and-lunch! is that it can be hard to say, ‘ok, I’ve done enough for the moment. It’s ok to stop for now.’