Learn to unplug and unwind

“Come…apart…and rest a while.” Mk 6:31

Don’t you find it interesting that the most high-tech generation in history is also the most medicated generation? The Bible predicted this. God told Daniel that in the last days “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Da 12:4 NKJV). That’s us! One researcher says we have trained our brains “to constantly flit around the universe of messages and information seeking brief hits of excitement. Grazing ceaselessly, we never dig too deeply before moving on to the next distraction…and it ratchets up our stress levels in ways we are only starting to understand.” When was the last time you enjoyed some uninterrupted downtime without feeling guilty and unproductive? Do you even take time to reflect and recharge? Avoiding burnout requires these: (1) Recognizing the signs. If you tweet and text people all day and yet you’re still lonely, technology may be dominating your life. (2) Doing something about it. Make yourself unavailable for short periods and see what happens. The world won’t come to an end, honest! (3) Realizing you have a choice. People who think they should be available twenty-four hours a day exaggerate their own importance, or the control others have over them. (4) Establishing boundaries. Rein in the emails and text messages. Do you really need all those FYIs about the same thing? (5) Telling people, unless it’s truly urgent, you answer emails at designated times throughout the day. (6) Setting a schedule and sticking with it. After a few minutes of surfing the Web, ask yourself, “Should I be doing this now?” Jesus said, “Come…apart…and rest a while.” Why? Because when you don’t come apart, you fall apart!

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