A Realistic Approach to Taking Breaks to Get More Done
Rushing around with your hair on fire lowers productivity. Take breaks to get more done.
Sleep:
The idea that top leaders are burning the candle at both ends is a myth according to research by Harvard Business Review. (Reported by Rasmus Hougarrd)
The worlds top CEO’s get enough sleep.
Rest:
Effective work – over the long-term – requires rest.
The deception of frantic schedules and stress-filled days is the myth that extraordinary effort can be maintained over the long-term.
If you were a cell phone battery, you wouldn’t be able to cheat yourself. You’d shut down when you ran out of juice. Your problem is you can run on empty for a while.
Take breaks:
The most productive people take breaks.
Research shows the optimal ratio of work to rest is 52 minutes of concentrated work and 17 minutes or rest. (Reported in The Atlantic.)
I find the ratio of 52 minutes to 17 minutes unrealistic for most businesses. But there are alternatives.
Set a countdown timer for 55 minutes. My experience shows that setting a timer:
- Increases time on task.
- Strengthens concentration.
- Fuels urgency.
When the timer goes off, get up and take a break. Walk around the building. Get coffee. Close the door and lay on the floor or stretch.
My experience shows that concentrated work followed by short breaks enables high performance.
Honor the finish line:
After completing a task, don’t rush to the next item on your list, honor the finish line.
Create a clear Stop Point before stepping up to a new Start Line.
Have you ever gone home wondering what you got done? You didn’t honor your finish lines. When you honor finish lines, you break your day into discrete units.
Tip: Keep a to-done list.
What suggestions do you have for taking breaks?
It is so true! I read your blog every day and it really helps me. Thank you so much for your help!
Excellent! At our agency we are at unprecedented levels of funding and product delivery. The concept of breaks and rest get pushed to the back-burner in favor of quantity at the expense of quality. And celebrating successes? Usually gets forgotten and by the time we make time it is no longer timely.
Definitely going to share with our team! Thank you, Dan!
And love the concept of the “To-done” list! Starting that today (check – to-done)
Thanks Jordan. Your situation is not unusual. Sadly, it sets up a dynamic that often drains the life out of people.
Best wishes…
Maybe we should call it a cha-ching list!!
Dan,
Having learned over the years to pace ourselves during the day is great if you can. Knowing when to give the engine a break is our discretion, everyone is different. as we have said before sometimes you have to say “no”. I’m done! Take the breaks when needed, its not worth stressing out over the brief moment of fresh air or a cup of coffee, etc. to get back on track.
Everyone needs to identify the limits, soon you will master oneself.
Thanks Tim. It’s interesting that knowing and setting limits enhances productivity. It frees us to work hard.
Your comment reminded me of the Farmer approach to getting things done. My friend calls it Steady On.
I’ve found it difficult to apply this in situations where tasks overlap, or don’t have well-defined beginning and endpoints. It isn’t easy to take a break at the end of one task where you’re already in the middle of two more!
Thanks, Dan, for this great reminder! I’m thankful my FitBit reminds me to move and walk every hour as sometimes I forget. Tired leaders don’t make good, considered decisions. A little rest helps give a fresh perspective also.
Thanks! Biggest take away for me is to honor the finish line. There are three of us (manager, co-lead and myself) stuffed in a small cubicle. Many interruptions on a daily basis blur the work together including finish lines.
What a great element to bring refreshment to the job!
Thanks for the reminder to pause and breathe before moving into the fray again.
Dan, your post makes a lot of sense — as always — and is consistent with avoiding the multi-tasking that tends to make us stupid! I’d be interested in how you fold interruptions into the 52/17 mix — whether for an office worker or a homemaker. Uninvited and often unwelcome,unavoidable interruptions can undermine the best of plans. All the best.
There is great book by Daniel Pink called When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing that talks a lot about breaks and the “when we do things” matters as much as the “why and how”.
I’m reading Pink’s book. What an eye-opener! Amazing to discover whether you’re a lark, an owl or a third bird and adjust your schedule accordingly. So many of us tend to multi-task and work nonstop until we suddenly realize it’s 6 PM. A top-rated ad agency where I worked gave us breaks. We could take a quick walk around Monument Circle (Indianapolis), have office chair races, or after a long, hard week of executing major ad campaigns, our creative director would take us on a walk over to the Porch at the Hyatt Hotel to sit in the rocking chairs and enjoy a beverage.
Dan, I hear you on this one. I can certainly notice a difference in my boss, coworkers, and even myself when fatigue sets in. The four steps for a realistic approach to taking breaks and getting more done are great. The suggestion I enjoyed the most was the optimal ratio of work to rest of 52 minutes of concentrated work and 17 minutes of rest. My job involves a lot of sitting, so having that timer go off to remind me to get up would be very helpful and refreshing. Not to mention recent times, where regular working from home leaves you glued to your couch or chair. I like the idea of the timer because it will fuel my urgency and schedule in more time for moving around.
My favorite ways to take breaks are to go for a walk, going on vacation, and taking a mental health day when necessary. When the weather in Louisiana isn’t so brutal, my coworkers and I take a walk around campus. Since we work in a lab, the sunshine and exercise really help us to unwind. I also think it is very important to use those vacation days. Getting completely away from work is the ultimate way to take a break. Lastly, if necessary, take a mental health day to stay home and unwind.