Why is taking frequent short breaks is better?

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Avatar for JLoberiza
2 years ago

January 25

Have you ever worked continuously for hours without taking a break? Or have you ever been in a meeting or workshop that includes "working breaks" or "working lunch"? I did.

Have you ever tried staying up more than 24 hours to finish a project? I once timed myself while working on a program. I was up for at least 37 hours. That's more than a day and a half.


 Hello again, dearest readers. Before I continue, I would like to emphasize that I did not take any illegal substances to keep me awake for that long. I did try adding a dash of coffee to my coke though. BLEEACH!!!!

Seriously, never try that.


 Will working long hours make you more productive?

Some people believe that working continuously makes them as productive as they can be. Maybe you have seen a person or two working for hours and hours non-stop. As if they never run out of energy, right?

 Surely they will accomplish more with those long working hours...

 Maybe.

Maybe some of us here believe that working 7 days a week will make us more productive. We don't need to take a break. However, have you ever thought about what it will do to the human body?

Disclaimer

First a little disclaimer. I am not a behavior scientist, a life coach, or anything that studies human behavior or productivity. The content of this post is primarily based on my observation and experience. I did a little Internet search though before I started writing this.

Our Body Needs To rest

Our body is following a natural rhythm. Most of us are working or up for sixteen hours and sleep for eight. Lately, some success gurus or life coaches preach that we need only six hours of sleep. In any case, our body needs to rest every day.

 The question is do we need to work for at least 16 straight hours before we take a break? Luckily we have our lunch breaks and dinner breaks.

 Is Taking Frequent Short breaks much better?

According to some studies taking frequent short breaks can make a more productive.

The reason the 10% most productive employees are able to get the most done during the comparatively short periods of working time is that they’re treated as sprints for which they’re well-rested. They make the most of the 52 working minutes, in other words, they work with purpose.

 Source: AsianEfficiency.com

I think a can attest to this statement personally. This January I started using the Focus To-do app on my desktop. Every time I start working I would enable the Promodoro timer.

(break time)

You might be wondering why I inserted the line "break time" between this paragraph and the previous one. Let me share the definition of the Promodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.[1] It uses a timer to break work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a university student.

- Source: Wikipedia

 

Thus that "break time" means I was already working for twenty-five minutes and took a break for 5 minutes.

 

Finish as much as you can in 25 Minutes.

This is what I have in mind every time I turn on the Promodoro timer.  I want to finish as much as I can within twenty-five minutes. If you have noticed in some of my previous posts, I included how much time I have left before my 25 minutes is up. It helped me work as fast as I can.

Other Benefits

Even before I learned about Promodoro, I always try to take a break within twenty to thirty minutes of work. I needed to. I have once suffered from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome a few years ago. Just before the pandemic started, I was diagnosed with trigger fingers. 

I always try to take frequent short breaks to avoid getting those injuries. Yeah, those two are results of Repetitive Strain Injury or RSI.

In Closing.

Scientists agree that taking more breaks means higher productivity. Perhaps that's also the reason that I am able to write this 24th article in 25 days.

Not only that, doing so will help avoid minimizing the strain on your hands, arms, and eyes.

Thanks for reading.

P.S.

I still have 10 minutes left. I will use that time to upload and proofread this.


Related Articles

I wanted to rest, but I need to be consistent

Five Amazing Apps That Will Help you Focus On Your Goals

Five Amazing Apps That Will Help you Focus On Your Goals

 How To Stop Wasting Your Time


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Image Credit

Lead Image: Created using Pixteller

Second Image : from Unsplash

 

 

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2 years ago

Comments

Time management is the key sir. Ako hirap na hirap ako but I can multitask things. siguro isa sa mga factors na nagco-contribute is ung environment ko kaya di ako maka-focus sa iisang bagay.

$ 0.01
2 years ago

"multi-tasking" is just a concept... An illusion actuallymYou are just juggling your time and focus on different tasks. Like cooking and doing the laundry at the same time. You can't really cut the ingredients while brushing the clothes at the same exact time. But, you can cut the vegies while your laundry is in the washing machine. Or brush the clothes while waiting for your adobo to get cooked. Doing two tasks within the same time from but not at the exact moment. It can be done on some tasks... But can you write and eat at the same exact moment?

Anyway....

Ginutom tuloy ako a. Bakit ba pagkain ang example ko???? Heheh

$ 0.01
2 years ago

uyyy medyo lumawak pang unawa ko don sir ah!! may point eh.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

That might be true but for my work it isn't possible. We only two breaks for 15 min and lunch for 1hr. So that porodomo technique may only be avail for some other type of jobs.

Anyways, nice write up mate.

$ 0.01
2 years ago

I don't have a boss hehe. Anyway, the break doesn't need to be long. Like a simple trip to the water dispenser is enough. The important thing you get up for your chair, away from your desk. Before I learned about promodoro, this technique is called 20-20-20. Meaning, take a break after twenty minutes and look at something at least 20 feet away for tweny seconds.

$ 0.00
2 years ago

Oh nice. Lemme try that nga hahaha

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2 years ago