Tomorrow is Zero-Tasking Day!

“Taking regular periods of time to breathe, relax, and be in gratitude can not only give your body and opportunity to relax, recoup and heal but can also open oneself to connection with natural creativity and enjoyment of the moment.” Dr. Helen Lee

 

On Sunday November 6, we celebrate Zero-Tasking Day—a day when we take the extra 60 minutes we gained from turning back our clocks to do—nothing. Just take a breath, relax and rejuvenate. 

I created this day because I know firsthand how being overwhelmed, overworked and overstressed can sap us mentally, emotionally and physically. And with the holidays coming up, we tend to add even more items to our To-Do list in our quest for the “perfect holiday season.”

(Not sure if you need to Zero-Task? Take my quiz!)

To get us in the right frame of mind, Dr. Helen Lee provides us with some reasons why we need this time off and how to gain it. A holistic doctor who founded and created Touch of Life Chiropractic in Hoffman Estates, IL, Dr. Lee’s perspective on health and healing includes the vital importance of balancing the mind, body and energy which allows full access to and expression of one’s Spirit. 

Her goal is to bring each person back to the basics of how to care for oneself-mentally, emotionally and physically.

Change Coach Nancy: What can stress do to our relationships with others: our significant other, our kids, our parents, our friends?

Lee: Stress can be the thing that pushes us to or over our edge of comfort. When we find ourselves at our edge, not only does our intolerance and irritability increase but so does our limiting beliefs, fears and worries --all of which can negatively impact our ability to communicate and relate to those around us.

Change Coach Nancy: What are some indicators that stress is getting the better of you? How do you know when you need to “zero-task”?

Lee: Some common indicators of overload may be physical discomfort in muscles, headaches, digestive irritation, repetitive negative thoughts, persistent feelings of anxiety or worry, and decreased ability or inability to complete tasks.

Change Coach Nancy: Especially since the recession, people are so worried about the economy that they are doing everything they can to create some measure of financial stability: working longer hours or working two jobs, for example. The general thought seems to be that “being busy is always better” and the idea of taking one hour a month (ideally one hour a week) to do nothing sounds crazy! Can doing nothing actually help us become more productive in the long run?

Lee: Taking time for oneself and doing “nothing” can definitely help in the long run in multiple ways. Our nervous, energetic and physical systems learns through repetition. The more we are in anxious, lack, fear mode the more those patterns will more likely become “automatically wired” in our circuitry. Therefore, someone can worry so much to a point that, even when there is nothing to worry about, they find themselves worried about nothing. 

Taking regular periods of time to breathe, relax, and be in gratitude can not only give your body and opportunity to relax, recoup and heal but can also open oneself to connection with natural creativity and enjoyment of the moment.

Change Coach Nancy: Sometimes people equate zoning out in front of the television with “taking time off.” Is that an effective way to create a psychological “breathing space” or are there better alternatives?

Lee: Television may be an easy way to “take time off” however, many of programs and commercials on TV are geared towards drama, bad news, and general negativity. Better alternatives would be doing something that connects you to nature and or animals. Sitting on the porch, going for a walk, enjoying your pets, or just simply getting used to being with oneself and quiet.

Change Coach Nancy:  I created a Zero-Tasking Day quiz to help people gauge their need for downtime. Do you zero-task?

Lee: Absolutely. Meditating regularly keeps me connected to my center and peaceful. It’s taken some practice but now I find myself naturally taking “zero-task” opportunities whenever I can.

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Thanks to Dr. Lee for being part of the Make A Change blog! Now, get ready for Zero-Tasking Day!