Posted by Are you trying to bend time and space to get more work done? If you have been letting work seep into (more like take over) your weekends, consider disconnecting for the next two days.
You tell yourself that you will feel better getting everything off your plate, that you do it because you need to keep your job, that even if you postpone it to the work week – it’s only going to cause more tasks to pile up. You tell your family and friends that you don’t really have a choice.
And you’re right. Who is to say you are wrong when you’re a moving part in a big machine? Plus, you would want to avoid causing a bottleneck at any cost.
All of this goes down on the two days you’re “supposed” to be leisurely. The two days you have to run the rest of your life. Simply put, work weekends take you away from enjoying the fruits of your labour.
But don’t just take our word for it, these scientific reasons on why you should unplug from work this weekend should do the trick:
- Your productivity during 60 hour work weeks would be less than two-thirds of what it would be if you worked 40 hour weeks instead. [Source]
- A twelve-year study by The Women’s Health Initiative indicated a reduced lifespan for women who had sedentary lifestyles. [Source]
- Studies have revealed that your ‘post-vacay glow’ (positive effects) can wear off within 2 to 4 weeks. [Source]
- Repeated job strain increases the risk of major depressive disorder (MDD). [Source]
- The greater your sleep loss, the greater the negative effects on your cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems. This includes obesity, diabetes, hypertension, symptoms of anxiety, depressed moods and use of alcohol. [Source]
- Lack of sleep is associated with lower life expectancy. [Source]
- There is evidence that the time many U.S workers sacrifice sleep because of time spent working and on their commute. [Source]
- Japanese researchers have alerted us to the link between heavy computer use and Glaucoma. All the more reason for you to not spend any more time looking at a computer screen over the weekend. In the study, computer users who were nearsighted and farsighted seemed to have an increased risk for visual field abnormalities. [Source]
- Do you work long hours or overtime often? This also increases your risk of major depression. [Source]
- Dr. Clif Saper at Harvard Medical School discovered that when we are drowsy, the brain can seize control involuntarily – like a pilot grabbing the controls. [Source]
- When you get less sleep, it impairs the way you correctly recognise facial emotions. Especially between reward-related (happy) and threat-related (anger) emotions. [Source]
Stefan Sagmeister: The power of time off
Batman doesn’t get time off…granted, Mr Wayne is making it rain (money wise) but, does that mean you shouldn’t either?
The science has spoken. Get some rest and disconnect this weekend.