In April 2025, I wrote an article for INTIX Access about the power of taking short breaks during the workday.

Apparently, I should have paid closer attention to the advice in that story.

Like many people who spend much of their day at a computer, I get very passionate and caught up in what I’m doing. I always want to finish just one more paragraph of a story or answer one more call or email. This keeps me sitting and staring at screens for far longer than I should, and eventually, that habit caught up with me.

Earlier this year, I realized I had lost some of the range of motion in my neck and ended up in physiotherapy. Treatment and exercises got things moving properly again, but my physiotherapist made one thing clear: as long as I have a desk job, regular movement, breaks and exercises need to be part of my routine.

Message received.

I made some changes several months ago and have stuck with them. The experience was also a reminder that knowing what’s good for us and actually doing it are two very different things.

Fall has always carried a sense of a fresh start. For ticketing professionals, it can also bring new seasons, holiday on-sales and increasingly busy calendars. So, as we step into fall, I’m inviting you to join me in taking stock of your own well-being.

Here are seven ways to make a wellness reset of your own.

1. Get Up and Move. Let’s start with the lesson I learned the hard way. Long stretches at a desk can easily become part of the workday, especially when an on-sale is underway, you have a show to build, emails are piling up or you’re determined to finish just one more thing. But finding opportunities to move doesn’t have to mean heading to the gym in the middle of the day.
   
   Get up between tasks. Stretch. Walk around the office. Refill your water bottle. Take the long way to the washroom. Even brief periods of movement can break up the time spent sitting.
   
   In Stretch, Strengthen, Stand: How to Stay Fit and Pain-Free at Your Desk and in the Ticket Office, fitness and wellness coach Amy Aravantinos recommended two- to three-minute microbreaks every 30-60 minutes, along with finding “movement anchors” that connect activity to things you already do throughout the day.
   
   I can now personally attest that this is advice worth following before things become a real pain in the neck, literally!
    
2. Rediscover the Power of the Pause. Your body isn’t the only thing that benefits when you step away from your desk. Sometimes your brain needs a break, too. And a break doesn’t have to be long to be worthwhile.
   
   In Power of the Pause: Take Short Breaks to Improve Focus and Well-Being, we explored how brief breaks can help restore focus and energy. Try making a coffee or talking to a colleague. You can also simply give yourself a few minutes when you aren’t staring at a screen or thinking about the next item on your to-do list.
   
   There will always be moments in ticketing when pausing isn’t possible. But when the opportunity is there, take it.
    
3. Give Your Sleep Routine a Reset. As the days get shorter, fall is also a good time to take another look at your sleep routine.
   
   Dr. Akinbolaji Akingbola, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, says daylight plays an important role in regulating our circadian rhythm. He recommends getting adequate morning and afternoon daylight, particularly as we head into the colder months. Maintaining consistent sleep and wake times, including on weekends or the days you are not working, can also help.
   
   “In addition to keeping a consistent wake-up time, there are some other practices in the evening that can help promote good sleep,” said Akingbola. “This includes limiting bright lights and screens in the hours preceding bedtime or lowering the temperature in the home prior to bedtime. Making these changes consistently could help reinforce the natural bedtime. If you are going through a stressful time or if you find that your mind races once you get into bed, it may be helpful to set some time aside prior to getting into bed to reflect or journal on the things that may be on your mind and keep you up at night.”
   
   For ticketing professionals working events, evenings and irregular schedules, consistency may not always be easy. But small changes still count.
   
   Our 7 Sleep Tips for Ticketing Professionals story includes more ideas for getting the rest you need, even when your schedule makes consistency challenging.
   
   And perhaps tip No. 4 can help with that daylight.
    
4. Step Outside. Take this one literally.
   
   Fall offers a great opportunity to get outside before winter sends some of us searching for our warmest coats and boots.
   
   Take a walk at lunch. Bring your coffee outside. Suggest a walking meeting. Or park a little farther away.
   
   When we explored ways to Spring Into Wellness a couple of years ago, Bruce Mayhew offered some wonderfully uncomplicated advice: Go for a walk before or after dinner. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 minutes or an hour. Whatever you do will be perfect,” he said.
   
   Indeed, there doesn’t have to be a step goal, personal best, specific route or fitness objective attached. Sometimes a walk can just be a walk.
    
5. Look Ahead Before Things Get Busy. A wellness reset isn’t only about physical well-being. It can also mean taking a realistic look at what’s ahead.
   
   Fall can be a busy time in ticketing, with new performing arts and sports seasons, holiday programming, on-sales and year-end demands all competing for space in already busy schedules.
   
   Take a few minutes now to look ahead. Where are your particularly busy periods? Is there vacation time you still need to use? Are there responsibilities that could be shared or delegated? And consider whether everything currently in your schedule really needs to be there.
   
   As we explored earlier this year in The Value of Disconnecting, time away from work allows us to rest and recover. And it doesn’t always require an extended vacation. A long weekend or an evening without checking email can create meaningful opportunities to recharge.
   
   Before the calendar gets even busier, this is a good time to look at yours. Make sure you've set aside time for yourself, too.
    
6. Reconnect With Your People. Wellness doesn’t have to be something we pursue alone.
   
   With summer vacations ending and more familiar routines returning, fall can be an opportunity to reconnect. Have lunch with a colleague instead of eating at your desk. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Make time for the people who make your workday and your life better.
   
   Your ticketing community counts, too.
   
   There are plenty of ways to reconnect with ticketing peers, from Wednesday Wisdom and regional ticketing groups to reaching out to someone you met at an INTIX conference. Our 12 Tips for Self-Care in Ticketing grew out of one of those Wednesday Wisdom conversations and demonstrated just how much we can learn when ticketing professionals share what works for them.
   
   Sometimes the best reset is simply connecting with someone who gets it.
    
7. Pick One Thing and Stick With It. Finally, don’t read this list and decide that tomorrow you’re going to exercise more, sleep eight hours, take every break, walk outside, completely reorganize your workload and reconnect with everyone you’ve ever met at INTIX.
   
   Pick one thing.
   
   Maybe it’s getting out of your chair every hour. Maybe it’s going for a walk at lunch, putting your phone away before bed or actually taking the vacation day that has been sitting unused.
   
   Choose something that will make a difference and, most importantly, something you can realistically keep doing.
   
   For me, it was finally making my exercises and regular breaks part of my workday. I knew what I needed to do. It just took a very sore neck to convince me to actually do it.
   
   Whatever your one thing is, fall seems like a pretty good time to start.

Editor’s Note: Here’s one final “bonus tip” you won’t want to miss! The 48^th Annual INTIX Conference and Exhibition takes place Jan. 25-28, 2027 in New Orleans. Stepping away from the day-to-day demands of the ticket office and spending time with colleagues who understand the work you do can be a reset of its own. We can’t wait to see you there!

You May Also Like

• INTIX Members Give Their Wit and Wisdom for the Remainder of 2026
• 7 Tips for Self-Care and Building Resilience in Uncertain Times

Want news like this delivered to your inbox weekly? Subscribe to the Access Weekly newsletter, your ticket to industry excellence.