can you elaborate some more on breaks? what is a break? like how long is it, and how many do you take in a day? im curious what your typical day plan looks like, where would the “break” blocks go and for how long, vs “work” blocks. im into daily planning but i always fail to account for taking mindful breaks
Amazing question—and the answer, of course, is different for everyone.
But I'll try to answer as efficiently as possible.
A break is any moment you take to recollect your thoughts, energy, or focus.
Yes, it's nice to have intentional breaks built into your schedule, but if you're neurodivergent, then it's most likely going to have to be intuitive.
Intuitive meaning depending on how you're feeling in the moment.
It's practically impossible to know if something is going to tire you out after 30 minutes or an hour on this upcoming Friday, you know? We just don't have that kind of foresight.
So, really, building in breaks into your schedule means not packing your day with a bunch of things do to.
For me, it usually means only timeblocking half the day with stuff to do, so that I can be sure everything will get done.
Personally, I don't include chores into my time blocks, but you can if you want to.
Personally, I do include my morning routine and nightly routine into my calendar, but not each individual task. It just gets one timeblock called "morning/nightly routine" with the task list as the description.
Throughout my day, I take breaks every 45 minutes or so—even if it's just to stop looking at the computer screen and think for a second.
Usually, though, I recommend getting up (if you can), drinking some water, and maybe doing a quick stretch/head roll/stim to release some excess energy.
It's all about knowing when you're hitting a wall.
That's when to take a break.
When you decide to come back is based on:
Your mental health in the moment (do not push yourself if you're about to breakdown, no matter how important the thing is)
How much time you have in the day/hour (think timed items like tests or a work deadline)
What needs to be done today vs. what can wait (most things can wait, actually)
Which are all individual skills in and of themselves.
Taking breaks in a world that doesn't support neurodivergent minds is a complex problem, because there are multiple layers to sort through.
Give yourself the time (years), space (hour-by-hour), and grace (all the time) to figure it out.
Remember: Learning how to live takes a lifetime.
