When You Need a Break

HALF-HOUR BREAKS

In this time of stress, we need to develop a list of ½ hour interruptions that we can draw upon to interrupt & even refresh our lives. We need the list so that we don’t have to think about it and put it off because we don’t know what to do. They should be fun activities, occasionally, but not always, having no actual value.

A couple of warning. First, I’m going to list more than twenty possibilities, and some of them may get so intriguing that you won’t want to stop after one-half hour. You can choose, but I’d suggest you do stop after the half-hour and then plan to resume during another half-hour. This builds in the feeling of anticipation which is also good for the soul.

Second, some of them may seem silly or even ridiculous. Being silly or doing something a little crazy can actually have some emotional benefit. You can do it alone, and no one has to know.

Third, some may seem to require a skill you don’t have. Try it anyway, you might be surprised and as said above, no one else has to see it.

Fourth, this is not an exclusive list. Use one of your half-hours to try to add additional activities to the list. Share the additions with others and bring benefit to their lives as well.

Here is my list, in no particular order of priority.

1. On the first half-hour, read through the list and choose at least TEN that appeal or intrigue you. Include at least a few that bring out the adventurous or daring side of your personality. You are more interesting and complex than you may think.
2. Make a call to someone in your past and have a catching up conversation.
3. Find a lively song either from your collection or on the internet, play it loud and dance to it by yourself. Make your body move to the beat.
4. Try writing a joke about the current situation. If you don’t think you know how or you are not very funny, use a half-hour to ask Google or YOUTUBE how to write a joke.
5. Play a game of solitaire or look up a game on the internet and play it.
6. Take either a piece of paper or a drawing program on your computer and draw a picture. It doesn’t have to be good. On another half-hour, color it in.
7. Write a thank you note to a friend. Not only will you get pleasure in writing it, but your friend will have his/her spirits lifted by receiving the surprise note.
8. In the first half-hour, research some simple at home exercises and then commit to doing at least one each day.
9. Find the words to a simple song that you remember (and the music if possible) and sing it out loud and with gusto. The internet has some karaoke lists you could use.
10. Take either an old children’s song or a familiar and simple church song and write a new verse for it. (hint: count the syllables and then match them with new words.) In this private exercise, don’t be afraid to be sarcastic, humorous, or focus on a secular topic.
11. Recall an embarrassing moment or action in your history and write an apology to the other people who were involved. (You don’t have to send it, but you might!)
12. Project ahead to when this pandemic is over, assume you had $100, and plan how you would spend it to celebrate the end of this sad experience. In this case, assume you have to spend it on yourself in celebration. Describe the experience and how it would make you feel.
13. Rewrite a familiar Psalm (EG Psalm 23 or some verses from Psalm 139) but insert your name and alter some words to address what you are experiencing.
14. In the first half-hour, make a list of some of your favorite half-hour TV shows from your past, especially funny ones. Then in a future half-hour find a rerun and watch it.
15. Find a cookbook and look up a recipe that you will commit to learning how to make.
16. Think of some question that you have always been curious about and see if Google can find an article that can provide you an answer.
17. Take a ½ hour walk and intentionally find at least five things to see and appreciate.
18. Write a poem. It doesn’t have to be great. It might just be a series of sentences that end in words that rhyme. Or you can look up how to write particular forms like Haiku, etc.
19. Assume that God granted you total power to make one change in the world. Describe what it would be and how it would change the world.
20. Assume you were granted one million dollars to give away. To whom would you give it and why. Describe the impact on the world.
21. Assume that you could convince everyone in the world of one truth. What would that truth be and how would it affect the world?
22. Take some paper and six to eight circles inside of each other. Beginning with the center circle, write either a positive word or a negative word, then continue alternating words positive and negative until you have filled out the circle. Look at what you have done and consider how it makes you feel.
23. Take another half-hour to add at least five other activities to this list.

MY LIST WAS FUN

OK, that is my initial list. I actually had fun making it. In addition to enjoying making the list, I also enjoyed thinking about how others might make use of the list to interrupt their moods and stresses doing some of these activities.

That adds one more truth to this activity. When you do something that can benefit others, it can bring some joy and satisfaction to your life. In Genesis, God is quoted as saying, “It is not good for man(sic) to be alone.” The truth is that we are at our best when we are in relationship with others. You might share this with others, invite them to choose their own activities, and then regularly have a conversation with them about how it is affecting each of you.

DON’T GIVE THE PANDEMIC PERMISSION TO GET YOU DOWN.