This summer I took some extended time off. I wasn’t trying to achieve clarity about my life, but I did come away with some practical thoughts about taking breaks of all kinds. I posted my thoughts on Medium.
But here are the topline bullets…
– Take regular breaks over all time scales.
– Take breaks from the news.
– Take breaks from being connected. (I took Twitter and FB off my phone and survived to tell the tale.)
– Take breaks from yourself.
Then two more micro-conclusions
– Stay out of the comments sections
– Clean up something
My overarching resolution from the time off is to lessen the tethers to technology and strengthen the ones to people. But please head over to Medium to read the full piece and give me your thoughts.
On a more random note, the other thing I “accomplished” on my break that I didn’t mention in the article was reading David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. It was unlike any book I’ve ever read and has stayed with me. Eager to hear from others who have spent the significant time needed to dive into his bizarre, funny, troubling world of tennis, addiction, and Canadian espionage.
If you enjoyed this article, please sign up for Andrew Winston’s RSS feed, or by email. Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewWinston

Andrew’s book, The Big Pivot, was named a Best Business Book of the Year by Strategy+Business Magazine! Get your copy here. See also Andrew’s TED talk on The Big Pivot.