Take Break Before Taking Off

Have you taken a break today? Anything counts, even if it was your lunch break. As long as it gave you some downtime away from work, we’re happy. 

The importance of taking breaks stretches far and wide. Breaks help your productivity, energy levels, and ability to focus — not to mention your mental health and well-being.

But perhaps you struggle to take breaks. We know it’s not as simple as it sounds. You might think you’re shrugging off your work or being lazy, but you’re wrong. When you learn how valuable it is to give yourself a break while still in control, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start taking breaks sooner. 

Breaks and work performance: two sides of the same coin

It’s not a question of if we should take breaks. It’s a question of when and for how long. A break is a time for yourself. It’s when you have the chance to stand up and stretch, grab some food, or search for stress relief. Taking a break from work is a necessity for your productivity and focus.

The idea that we need to remain focused on one single task for as long as possible has been debunked by many studies. In fact, researchers have found that when our brains get used to something, performance and productivity begin to crash.

They also found that paying attention to single tasks for too long is harmful to performance — but taking short breaks ultimately helps us stay focused for longer. That’s why brain breaks are important: they allow us to regroup and gather our attention, rather than continue fighting for concentration — which just makes us unproductive in the end.

Some researchers have also found that lengthy breaks are unreasonable because workers grow bored and fatigued more easily. The amount of time we rest for matters. We need to ensure that we’re taking breaks that boost our energy levels. We also need to find the right time to take those breaks.

We love to work hard. Seeing all that our hard work brings us is rewarding, but so is learning the importance of taking breaks.

Learning how to take a break while still having self-control helps us take care of our mental health and well-being. It shows us that we can work hard and value rest simultaneously. It’s a form of self-care because we choose to improve our physical and mental health rather than let our work harm it.

Some tools may work better for you than others, so try several until you find what works for you. Whatever tool you choose, make sure that you stick to it and hold yourself accountable.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes including you. It is very refreshing to go away and take a break, to clear your head, and just get into something else.