Elaine St James, the author of Simplify Your Life and Simplify Your Work Life, is a mentor to me as I try to negotiate my way through the tangled undergrowth of urban life. One of her memorable tips is that when your schedule is really tight and you are drowning in work, take a break. And in fact, the time when you can least afford to indulge in one is when you most need to.

She cites the instance when she had to meet an impossible deadline. One of the first things she did right away was take a day off. She revelled in a stroll along the seashore eating ice-cream, had a delicious meal at a beach restaurant and even took in a matinee show. By the time she went to bed - tired but happy - she had worked out in her head how she was going to meet the deadline, which she did with two days to spare!

Distance yourself
St James makes a valid point. When we are so immersed in an issue or a problem, that we have lost our perspective and innumerable emotions overwhelm us, the best thing to do is to take a break, distance ourselves from the situation and see it from a bird's eye perspective. Not only will many things become clear, but the new outlook might actually help us to resolve the situation.
When I work on major stories or even smaller ones, I find that letting the article lie fallow for a day or two and looking at it afresh, always helps me to add more depth and meaning to it and to eliminate the fluff. No matter what our situation, we will never really see it for what it is until we step back and view it from an outsider's 'eye'. That is why breaks are essential. They are therapeutic, enlightening and of course, corrective. All too often, we jog along through life, completely caught up in the inertia of motion, doing things simply because we have always done them. When we stop doing the tried and tested, for whatever reason, we finally get a chance to ask ourselves if this is really what we want to do or be and if not, what is the option?

Explore the unexpected
A friend of mine took a month's sabbatical from her corporate job, dabbling in a variety of arts. That experience spawned a determination to ease out of her job and make an occupation from art. If she hadn't explored the unexpected she would have never known about this alternative livelihood.
I also know a busy executive whose life stopped in its tracks when he had a heart attack. As he lay in his hospital bed, wondering where he went wrong, he had an epiphany. He realised that this was not the life he wanted to lead. He left his job and became a Reiki master instead.
Accidents, illnesses and other unfortunate events are nature's way of forcing us to take a break if we don't do it ourselves. So, take time off before a crisis at work or health or relationships begins to snowball.