Are you due for a break yet?

Carve time for yourself and plan an intentional break. Why? People have been struggling with feeling overworked and under-rested for a long time now, but it seems that the path out of it has been more difficult than ever.

I've noticed an uptick in social media posts sounding like this: "It's really hard to take a break when you have so much to do." The idea is that if you just buckle down and work harder, then everything will be fine.

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But, that only works for so long before you're feeling stressed and exhausted. It's not enough to work harder: you also need to take breaks to recharge and feed your soul. So start carving time in your calendar now by taking regular breaks like having a weekly night off, a weekend away, or doing something completely different on the weekends.

Talk about the hard stuff too. To really do this well takes more than just fitting it all into one day or week – it's about opening up about the hard stuff. It's about talking to a friend you trust and putting your feelings into words, knowing that you can then take action based on what you feel better prepared to do.

Take a walk outside. Walking is one of the best ways to experience peace and quiet, so it's no surprise that research has found that walking for just 20 minutes in nature reduces stress hormones in participants by 30-50%.14.

Investing in yourself sounds like an obvious answer, but we don't value ourselves enough. Investing in yourself is a very personal thing, but it also makes more sense than you think. It might be something as simple as taking up a new hobby or learning a language (and maybe even practicing it). Whatever your goals are, know that if you work hard and put the time in to achieve them, they'll lead to greater things for you and others.