How can taking breaks result in increased productivity when it requires you to stop working? Well, while it may seem counter-productive, frequently resting throughout the day allows you to do several key things that help you become more productive. Check them out!
Rest and recharge
Sitting all day is bad for your health in and of itself, but sitting all day while using a computer is even worse, because then, you’re also straining your eyes and putting yourself at risk of developing repetitive strain injury (or RSI). But aside from all the health problems, it hurts your productivity too.
Marathon sessions in front of the computer are clearly tiring. And when you are tired, you can’t function at 100%. This means you’ll work slower, commit more mistakes and get distracted more easily. Taking frequent short breaks—at least once every hour—allows you to keep your energy levels and focus up throughout the day. And you don’t even have to do anything fancy during your time off. Just walk around, stretch or go up and down a flight of stairs. Just do anything that requires you to get out of your seat and move your body. You’ll be healthier and more productive too!
Get those creative juices flowing—literally!
During my time as a copywriter at an advertising agency, we’d do all sorts of physical activities whenever we felt like we were running out of ideas. We’d start running and jumping around, wrestling each other, playing games, dancing and even working out—all to get more blood pumping into our brains. It’s fun, and it works!
Staring at the creative brief rarely did us any good. All it really ever did was make us feel like we were being forced to think—and that was exhausting. Getting active, on the other hand, made the ideas flow more naturally and, as a result, made us more productive.
Discover new perspectives
Tackling problems head on works—but not all the time. In some cases, taking a step back and giving yourself time to discover other angles from which to attack is your best bet. This is why some of our most brilliant ideas come out when we’re in the shower, or taking a walk or about to go to bed. When we relax and take our mind off of the problem at hand, we subconsciously give our brains a chance to pull back a little and see a more complete picture to work with.
So don’t be afraid to take a break or two
Spending all day at your workstation may make it feel like you’re getting a lot of things done, but it can actually hurt your productivity. Taking short breaks throughout the day helps keep you on your toes and ensures that the time you spend working results in the creation of quality work, which is one of the measures of real productivity.
Know of any cool things to do during breaks? Share them with us in the comments!