Take Breaks | Everyday is a Story - Shannon Cason's Homemade

Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: "Take Breaks | Everyday is a Story"

Podcast: Shannon Cason's Homemade
Host: Shannon Cason
Date: June 2, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Shannon Cason delves into the theme of taking breaks during work—exploring both the necessity and the value those pauses add to productivity and creativity. Through anecdotes about renovating his new home and his unique working style, Shannon reflects on how rest is often an integral part of progress, not a disruption of it.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Building a Home & Working Style

Shannon shares that he is currently working on a house that will soon be his own, detailing the many tasks: cleaning, measuring, painting, hanging, and fixing.
He openly observes, with humor and self-awareness, that he takes a lot of breaks during his work:
- “I work hard and I break harder. Every day is a story.” (00:00)
Each stage of the project, from taping before painting to mounting shelves, is punctuated by intentional pauses.
- "I prep for painting...Break time. I paint all the edges...Time for a break. Then I paint the walls...Break time." (00:37)

The Purpose of Breaks

Shannon emphasizes that his breaks are not aimless; they're purposeful and restorative.
- Scheduled breaks include daily 11am meditation with his “Hoffman friends,” stretching about 15 minutes.
- Physical breaks involve walking—his daily step count hovers between 8,000 and 12,000—which he calls “fresh air walking breaks.”
Breaks are often moments for reflection, deep thought, and planning:
- “Some of the breaks are just deep thinking, like on what to do next. Planning it all out in my head, like measuring things three times just to make certain.” (02:00)

Mistakes, Adjustments, & Serendipity

Shannon highlights the value of stepping back for creative reassessment:
- While painting his bedroom, he realized during a break that he did not like the color and changed it the next day—"Now I love the color." (02:54)
Breaks also facilitate practical refinements—like determining shelf height to accommodate his vinyl collection.
He describes serendipitous moments, like finding a needed hammer drill on Facebook Marketplace during a break.
- “Sometimes it’s godly serendipity...I bought a hammer drill yesterday like this, you know.” (04:10)

Creative Connection & Audience Engagement

Shannon often gets inspiration for podcast episodes in the spaces between tasks.
- “I'll break and have a good idea for the next episode...I had a thought about this episode while I was taking a break.” (05:03)
He intimately involves the listener, reflecting on their own experiences with work and breaks.

The House’s Progress & Personality

Detailed descriptions of the evolving home:
- Office: “Dream office...It's an office, it's a library, it's a music room. I truly mean it's the office of my dreams.” (05:27)
- Bedroom: “Very dark, sultry, very masculine...Lot of leather, very comfortable, very lingerie friendly. Not for me. I'm not wearing the lingerie.” (05:50)
- Bathroom: Next on the list, working with pink towels for a “quirky, artsy look” (06:10)
- Kitchen, basement, and garage are long-term projects to come.

Reflection: Rest as Progress

Shannon delivers the core message:
- “Rest isn't always the opposite of progress. Sometimes slowing down can help you move forward. Sometimes, even if it looks like you're being lazy, many times you’re planning, you're measuring, you're seeing the finished vision of things or you're just walking around and you’re staying healthy. Sometimes the most important work happens between the actual work.” (07:00)
He concludes with questions to the listener, inviting them to reflect on their own work patterns:
- “What about you? What's your work style? Do you work better in long stretches or short bursts? Like, do you use your breaks to help you or do your breaks distract you? What's your story?” (07:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Opening line:
- "I work hard and I break harder. Every day is a story." — Shannon Cason (00:00)
On the function of breaks:
- “Most of my breaks have a purpose.” (01:50)
On breakthrough realizations:
- “I realized that I don't like the color...you can't wake up every morning in the wrong color bedroom.” (02:54)
On rest and productivity:
- “Rest isn't always the opposite of progress. Sometimes slowing down can help you move forward.” (07:00)
Closing reflection to the audience:
- “Do you use your breaks to help you or do your breaks distract you? What's your story?” (07:30)

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:00 – 00:55: Introduction, working style, and humor about frequent breaks
01:00 – 02:15: Purposeful breaks—meditation, walking, and deep thinking
02:15 – 03:45: Mistakes corrected during breaks; the role of reflection in progress
04:00 – 05:00: Serendipity in problem-solving; inspiration during breaks
05:27 – 06:20: Detailed home updates and creative design decisions
07:00 – 07:30: Reflection on rest vs. productivity, invitation for listener introspection

Summary Takeaway

Shannon Cason reframes breaks as powerful tools for creative work, home improvement, and life in general. He invites listeners to reconsider the perceived divide between work and rest, suggesting that often our greatest insights—and progress—emerge while we step away from the task at hand.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
I work hard and I break harder. Every day is a story. I'm Shannon Cason. Make sure you like, comment and subscribe. I'm working on a house. It's going to be my house. More on that soon. I'll tell you about that. But I'm working hard and it's coming along slowly but surely. Cleaning, measuring, painting, hanging things, fixing things. There's a lot of work that I've done and there's a lot more to do. But one thing that I've noticed about my working style, I was taking a break yesterday and I noticed I take a lot of breaks. And here's how it goes. I prep for painting. I'm taping, I'm putting down the throws. Break time. I paint all the edges, get, get all the corners and edges. Time for a break. Then I paint the walls with the roller and everything. Break time. I'm hanging the blinds like I hang the blinds in the windows. Time for a break. Mount the projector screen. I take a break now, put up the mirror. Break time. I put up shelves. I love shells. If you come into any of the places that I've ever lived in, you'll see a lot of shells. People love my shells, and I put them high too, because I'm tall. But after I do it, break. Most of work that I've done I do alone. But even when I'm with someone, I say, you know, let's take a break. Let's take a, a fresh air break. And if you watch from the outside in, you think, this guy takes a lot of breaks. But most of my breaks have a purpose. At 11am I take a break. This is going to sound real, you know, fu, fu, she and all that, but I meditate with my Hoffman friends. It takes about 15 minutes. I do a little meditation at 11 and, and right now I'm walking 10,000 steps a day. And I fluctuate between 8 to 12,000 steps. So I take a lot of walking breaks, a lot of fresh air walking breaks. And then some of the breaks are just deep thinking, like on what to do next. Planning it all out in my head, like measuring things three times just to make certain. And a few days ago, like I was painting, I was painting my bedroom and I took a break after painting all the trim in the bedroom. And I looked at it and I realized that I don't like the color. You can't wake up every morning in the wrong color bedroom just looking at it. I was like, ah, I don't like that color. And I switched it the next day. Now I love the color. So my breaks do have a purpose. I break through I putting up shelves and I think like, okay, these shelves need to be at least 14 inches. So I can fit vinyl records into some of the spaces. There's a lot of vinyl to put places. So I'll think of that and it's a great adjustment. So my breaks do have a purpose. I'll break and I'll think about the perfect tool for the job. Then sometimes it's like godly serendipity because I look on Facebook marketplace and I'll see the tool that I need for a fraction of the retail price in a city like 10 minutes over. Like I bought a hammer drill yesterday like this, you know. So it's a much needed hammer drill. Now I need an angle grinder so I could look for an angle grinder. I'll break and have a good idea for the next episode. Next homemade episode or every day is a story episode. So I think about you on those breaks too. I had a thought about this episode while I was taking a break. So between breaks, the house is coming together very good. You know, my office is like a dream office. It's an office. It's a library, it's a music room. I truly mean it's the office of my dreams. If I move to a bigger, better house, I would put that same office in the next house. The bedroom, very dark, sultry, very masculine. Lot of leather, leather all throughout the bedroom. Very comfortable, very lingerie friendly. Not for me. I'm not wearing the lingerie. The bathroom. The bathroom is next on the list of things to do. And I'm going for this quirky, artsy look in the bathroom. I'm dealing with these pink towels. So I'm working with what I have to work with. Pink towels. I gotta make pink towels look cool in some way because I'm not redoing the whole bathroom just yet. And then there's the living room, the hallway, then there's the extra bedrooms and then the kitchen and the kitchen go take a lot of money in time. So you know, the kitchen go come last. And then the basement, garage, and then all of outdoors. So it's like a process that you go to with productive breaks in between all of the hard work. So the moment of meaning for me. Right. Rest isn't always the opposite of progress. Sometimes slowing down can help you move forward. Sometimes, even if it looks like you're being lazy many times you're planning, you're measuring you seeing the finished vision of things or you're just walking around and you staying healthy? Sometimes the most important work happens between the actual work. But what about you? What's your work style? Do you work better in long stretches or short bursts? Like, do you use your brakes to help you or do your breaks distract you? What's your story?