We all want to work as much as possible in order to fulfill our goals and finalize every task in our schedule. But we are humans, we can only do so much, which is why it makes a lot of sense to learn when and how to take breaks properly. In fact, taking breaks is a crucial part of time management, since we are not robots and thus we need to set time aside to recover and re-energize our body and brain.
Why should you consider taking a break?
It might sound counter-intuitive, but taking breaks is a great way to become more productive. If you work too much at once without taking a break, you will end up lowering your focus and productivity. Taking a break improves your memory and learning, not to mention it restores your motivation too. And on top of that, breaks can help you rewire your brain and even fuel your creativity. A lot of people come up with amazing ideas when they are on a break, and you can do that too. A mini-break is a few minutes away from your work; this may be chatting with someone who is in the room with you or getting a drink.
Of course, a break will also help you improve your mental health and wellbeing. It’s a great idea to take a break since it can help you re-assess things, re-optimize your schedule and boost your productivity. It’s also the best way to prevent fatigue. In addition, it will boost your concentration levels, without feeling overwhelmed. Relaxing and social breaks have been found to be particularly beneficial. A relaxing break can help to facilitate recovery, by returning your mental and psychical functional systems to their baseline . Additionally, a relaxing break can help to reset your mood, thereby promoting positive wellbeing and reducing stress. Social breaks, such as chatting with your peers, have also been found to be beneficial. Social interactions allow you to share your experiences and feel part of a group. This feeling of relatedness, during a social break shows a positive association with feeling recovered after the break.
How often do you need to take a break?
Not everyone has the same schedule, so the ideal break times vary from one person to the other. However, taking a 5-10 minute break every hour can help immensely. Some people use the Pomodoro technique, which encourages you to take a 5 minute break after 25 minutes of work time. You can feel free to adapt that to your needs, but it’s still important to try and take a break every hour if possible.
Taking breaks and having the right time management strategy can help immensely, and it will make it easier than ever to access the results you want. As you can see from Christine Reidhead’s Udemy course “Time Management History, Benefits, and Techniques”, knowing the right time management techniques can truly help improve your life and push it to the next level. Give this great course a try today and learn more about the true power of time management and how much this can help improve your workflow and results!
