The Power Of Pause: How To Take A Break
Modern life goes by at a startling fast pace, and the volume of work we’re expected to complete is ever-increasing. All over the world, people are spending far more than the traditional 9-5 hours getting their work done, week after week. While companies are trying to make workplace stress less of an issue, it still has a significant impact on employees. Many individuals fail to understand that continuously working is not only draining, but also decreases your productivity. Frankly, taking a break at work is something that doesn’t get the amount of attention that it deserves.
Taking some time to let yourself recharge is crucial when you’re working long hours, especially if you are remote and staying in the same place, or room, all day. Everyone has different preferences for how long they take breaks, or the frequency, but taking time to recharge your batteries, especially during a global pandemic, is incredible important.
How To Take A Mental Break At Work
A question that many hardworking individuals ask: What’s the benefit of taking a break at work? When we’re already so busy every day, wouldn’t taking more time off be counterproductive? The simple answer is no, and there are clinically proven benefits to taking breaks in between work. There are several reasons why taking a break can be advantageous for individuals.
One of the critical areas of break research focuses on the advantages of movement breaks. A movement break becomes necessary due to the strain constant sitting puts on your body. Sitting constantly puts individuals at a higher risk of suffering from depression, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Taking a movement break is incredibly simple; all you need to do is get up from their chair and walk around for a bit. Additionally, individuals may look towards engaging in practices such as yoga and stretching. Ideally, these movement breaks are most effective when taken after an 30 to 60 minutes of sitting.
Additionally, the human brain was never designed to focus for extended periods. Once you work over a set period of productive time (it’s estimated that people lose focus after roughly an hour of work) there can be a steep drop in productivity. However, one of the easiest ways to reset this focus and guarantee continued high performance is by taking breaks. This allows individuals to get back on track and retain optimal productivity and output.
One school of thought is that the human brain functions in two modes: focused and diffuse. When the individual is concentrating and working towards a specific objective, they are in focus mode. Diffused mode refers to a more relaxed state that individuals retain when not working. The obvious assumption is that humans would be most effective at solving problems while in focused mode. However, that’s not entirely true.
A wide variety of research suggests that more sections of the brain are active during the diffuse mode. This is why activities like driving or showering seem to result in so many ideas and breakthroughs. When the individual moves from working to taking a break, they effectively enter into diffuse mode. While in diffuse mode, doing an innocuous task may result in an idea or breakthrough that solves a difficult problem.
Another significant advantage of taking breaks while working is that they provide an opportunity to step back and analyze the work you’ve done. It’s a way to ensure that you’re doing a job correctly. When you’re actively engaged in solving a problem, you can get lost in intricacies that might not be relevant. Once you take a break and go back to pick up the project again, you’ll approach it with new vigor. Upon picking up the job again, you can also take a more thoughtful look at the work done so far to ensure everything is in order.
Plus, continuously working for an extended period results in a significant decrease in creativity. This goes hand in hand with the idea that individuals move from focus mode to diffuse mode. When a person shifts to diffuse mode, it increases creativity as more sectors of the brain are active.
Ways To Take A Break At Work
While it might seem simple enough — just scroll through Instagram or better yet, TikTok, for 15 minutes, there are nuances to taking a break at work. It’s not as simple as just stopping your work and doing something else. There are several proven ways to effectively take a break at work.
Pomodoro Method
The Pomodoro method is among the most well-regarded and common ways to effectively take a break while working. This method involves short bursts of work followed by short breaks — usually working for 25-30 minutes and taking 5-10-minute breaks. The break will allow you to relax and recharge your batteries before taking on a new project. Often, people will move from one task to another after the break is complete with this method.
90-Minute Work Blocks
For certain people, the Pomodoro method simply doesn’t afford the necessary amount of time they’d like to spend tackling a problem. An alternative approach that provides more extended working periods is the 90-minute work block. What makes the 90-minute work block so successful is that it falls in line with the body’s natural rhythm. When a person goes to sleep, they progress through their sleep cycle at intervals of 90 minutes. But, if you’re working for this period of time, it’s recommended that the break you take be longer than 10 minutes, that way you’ll have time to recharge and get back in the swing of things.
52-17 Method
A newer form of research suggests that the 52-17 method might be more effective than the Pomodoro and the 90-minute work blocks. It combines the best things from both techniques and provides a new, more productive working formula. According to this technique, the individual must work for 52 minutes and takes a break for 17. These two numbers have proven to be the most effective for increasing a worker’s overall productivity. It fundamentally transforms the work periods into active sprints, while the rest periods are sufficient enough to let individuals recharge.
Two Breaks Per Day
While many people struggle to work productively for more extended periods, some individuals might find that they can work better in prolonged increments. For those workers, the ideal structure might be the two-breaks-per-day method. With this technique, the individual sets two breaks that they’re going to take throughout their workday. These are typically 15 minutes long.
While taking breaks at work is crucial to improving your productivity, it’s also essential to understand the optimal time to take a break, which will be different for everyone. If you’re interested in starting with this method, try to remain consistent with the break’s timing throughout the week so your body and brain become accustomed.
How to Improve Your Breaks At Work
You might be thinking: Sure, I can take a 17 minute break. But what the heck am I supposed to do during that break? Is it a free-for-all? We’ve got you covered. The following are a few useful techniques that you can use to enhance your breaks.
Meditation
Meditation is a practice that individuals have been using throughout history to find peace and tranquility. There are several different methods that one can use to meditate. The most popular techniques for mediation are breathing and mindfulness. Breathing meditation is simple to understand and requires different breathing techniques that help you reach a heightened state. Mindfulness meditation is the practice of bringing your attention to current sensations and feelings. Both techniques can help refresh your mind and relieve stress.
Listen To Music
Some people are lucky — they can listen to music while they work without suffering from any productivity lapses. For the rest of us, spending your break milling through Spotify’s New Music Friday is a great use of time. Plus, music has been proven to boost happiness and reduce anxiety overall.
Walking
One of the most significant disadvantages of working long hours is the amount of time you’ll spend sitting (especially when working remote). Spending so much time sitting has a significant negative impact on an individual’s health. That’s why taking a break at work and walking around for a bit is incredibly beneficial.
Read
One thing that workers can do to get a bit of relaxation during their breaks is read. However, the reading material must be completely unrelated to work. Reading for pleasure can be a great way to keep your brain active, creative and engaged.
Spend Time Online
While all these methods are effective, another simple way to take breaks is by spending time online. Getting to spend 5-10 minutes scrolling social media, playing a quick solitaire mind game on Solitaire Bliss, or looking at goofy things can be a great way to reset. We’re basically giving you a free pass to watch a few of The Dodo’s dog videos. Win-win.
Nap
Naps are incredibly effective at giving individuals that short boost of energy they need to get more work done. However, only short naps are effective; taking longer naps can have a detrimental impact and actually make you more tired.
Brain Breaks At Work: Conclusion
It’s evident that in the modern world there are a lot of people that are working as hard as they possibly can. One of the best ways to maintain that work ethic is giving yourself the opportunity to take breaks at work. There are several different ways to take breaks that’ll significantly improve productivity, and we hope you’ve found some helpful insight in this article. Leave a comment below if you’ve got alternative methods for taking breaks that you’d like to share.
