There are advantages to taking breaks, even if the world views taking a break as a way to promote laziness. Your effectiveness and efficiency will improve if you take regular breaks. You can work more intently and for more hours each day if you give yourself a break at least once per hour. You won’t just get more done. You’ll be happier and less stressed, too.
The advantages of taking breaks
1. You’ll get more done. Try a little experiment at work. First, spend a day attempting to do nothing but work for the entire day and note how much you accomplish. The following day, focus on your work for 30 minutes and take a 5-minute break. Notice how much more you get done. The same applies to physical activities as well.
2. You’ll feel much better at the end of the day. When you tried the experiment above, how did you feel physically and mentally at the end of the day? You’ll feel nearly as good at the end of the day as you did at the beginning if you take breaks. Without breaks, you’ll feel exhausted. I don’t want to feel exhausted at the end of the day.
3. The quality of your work is improved. Our ability to focus is limited. Our mind begins to wander at some point. Before we know it, we’re full-on daydreaming. When your focus begins to shift away from your task, the overall quality of your work suffers. There are so many distractions available to us each day. We feel great if we can stay focused on an assignment and complete it as planned feels excellent!
Taking regular breaks is an effective way to ensure the quality of your work doesn’t suffer.
4. Breaks provide opportunities for evaluation. Make it a regular habit to check on how efficiently you are working. If you put your head down and never look up, you can get lost in the weeds. A break is an opportunity to reevaluate the situation.
5. Taking a break can lower your stress. To prevent pressure from building up, take a break from whatever it is that’s causing you stress. Your ability to work is compromised as your tension rises.
6. Breaks help to prevent boredom. Studies suggest that it’s more effective to regularly disengage and reengage with goals rather than focusing on them for long periods. The same idea applies to your work. Avoid spending too much time on one task before taking a break. You’ll maintain a higher level of interest in your work.
7. You can use your breaks to get other things done. Imagine how much you can accomplish with eight or more 10-minute breaks each day. You could spend those 10 minutes taking a short walk, meditating, or reading a book.
A break is a time of inactivity. Use your break time to recharge your energy by doing whatever works best for you.
How to make the most of your break
You might be wondering how long a break should be and how frequently should you take them. The ideal break schedule is a 5-minute break every 30 minutes or a 10-minute break every 60 minutes. It can also be helpful to take a more extended break every 2-3 hours.
Try a few different schedules and see what works for you. As a general rule, tasks that require more brainpower or muscle power require more breaks.
Breaks are an enjoyable way to add hours to your day. Your productivity will increase, and you’ll also enjoy your free time more since you won’t be exhausted. Give yourself a break today and enjoy the many benefits taking regular breaks provides.
If you want to add this new habit to your daily routine, my friend Connie Ragen Green offers a free “Action Habits Challenge” that could interest you. This challenge will help you move forward with more clarity and focus while improving and enhancing your personal and professional life. You can do what I do and save the weekly tips to review when you need a little push. Again, this challenge is free. Click here to visit this site.