Admittedly, I have a ton of energy. I wasn’t named the “Energizer Bunny” by my high school volleyball coach for nothing! My day starts at 5:30am and I go pretty strong until I drop at around 10:30pm.

While I definitely accomplish a lot and am pretty intense and focused, there are natural rhythms to my day where I rest and put the “brakes” on. I’d like to share them with you so you can see that I do, indeed, rest and have some unique ways to do so!

Putting The Brakes On: How I Take Breaks In My Day : www.claresmith.me

1) During my workout

“Whoa, Clare. Have you lost your mind? Rest during workout?” Well, yes! I call this mental rest! While I am pushing my body to it’s limits and am thinking about my exercises, there is also this odd way that my mind goes into one of the most relaxing parts of my day! Mental rest is just as important as physical and my 60 minute workout is where I clear my head and the troubles of the world disappear…for the most part. 🙂

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2) During my afternoon nap

Yes, it’s true. I cat nap (no more than 20 minutes) probably 3-4 days a week. At first I used to be shy about this because for some reason people think that resting is a terrible thing in our society, but I’ve learned 2 things:

a) Every person’s body is different. We have natural flow and energy and we must listen to it

b) Studies show that napping ain’t that bad! In fact, people who do nap, can be much more productive than those who don’t!

It doesn’t always work, but I try and grab it when the kids come home from school and watch a TV show. I lay on the couch right beside them and if I’m tired enough, I’ll fall right asleep. If I can’t within 5 minutes of laying, I will get up. (I know my body enough to know I won’t “eventually” fall asleep) My body is so used to it, I don’t even need an alarm! I literally wake up between the 19-22 minute mark every time.

3) During homework and snack with the kids

So the next time I get a bit of a break (after my nap!) is when we sit to do homework and they snack. I sit beside them on the couch and read their homework (or a book of mine) or stay in the kitchen while they eat and work. It’s a nice pause for the day as we reset for the rest of the day. We LOVE Chobani Flip Greek Yogurt as a snack! If I’m wanting something sweet, this is one way I tame that sweet tooth. I don’t indulge every day, but I don’t feel so bad eating them, or giving them to my kids!  (They love them!) There are so many flavors, so depending on what I’m wanting, they are perfect!

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Banana with Dark Chocolate and Honey Roasted Salted Almonds!

4) 30 minutes before putting the kids to bed

My final rest or break time is right before we put the kids to bed. Up until then, it’s homework, dinner, baseball, clean-up etc….and after I get the kids down, I spend another 30 minutes working on my blog, so this is my last pause before I actually go down at night. We bathe the kids and sit in their room on the floor as they chat about their day. We put away clothes, tidy up their room, and read as a family.

So now that you know how I take a break during the day, I’d love to know how you do it! Do you find natural pauses and rhythms to your day? If not, you will want to build those in. There is nothing fun about a frazzled, exhausted mama and wife! Consider that rest is a God-given gift to us so that we might be the healthy women He’s created us to be! Share your favorites ways to break, below, and if there are any snacks or drinks that are an important part of it!

“Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Chobani through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Chobani Flip Greek Yogurt, all opinions are my own.”