B reaks not only recharge your mental capacity but also bestow you a me-time where you can focus on your socialization and create a healthy peer group. So, let's take a look at those 4 prolific strategies on how to schedule breaks at work to boost your happiness and comfort levels and your employer’s satisfaction level at the same time.
- Pomodoro Method
One of the most famous strategies for scheduling your break is the Pomodoro technique. It involves working in small units of time, typically 25 minutes, which then shall be followed by a 5 minutes break.
When working on the screen, it's better to take a break from the screen. Thus, try honoring your 5 minutes break with the activities you love the most, either hanging out with friends, getting in contact with the outdoor environment and nature, or spending time playing little games. You can even start a novel or story and try reading those chapters in your break and refresh your mind.
The Pomodoro method is more useful for employees who have one lengthy task rather than many small tasks. This technique avoids excessive work exhaustion and improves your productivity results.
Various types of applications allow you to effectively practice the Pomodoro method such as Forest. Be Focused is a likely option for Apple users, whereas Pomodoro App allows you to set Pomodoro timings on your desktop or laptop browsers.
- The 90-Minutes Rule
During the studies carried out by Nathan Kleitman and William Dement, American sleep researchers, it was discovered that human beings progress and reach a peak in their sleep during a 90 minutes session after which an interval of a low dose is observed.
Studies have shown that the same pattern applies to an active human brain that tends to produce the most productive results within 90 minutes. An ideal time for a break could also be based on this study.
The 90-minutes rule involves diligent working on the given task followed by a 10-20 minutes break depending on your work.
Referring to Professor K. Anders Ericsson, people in professions which require extreme concentration such as athletes, chess players, musicians, or actors generally plan their focus session making sure that they do not exceed 90 minutes.
- The 52-17 Strategy
Combining the benefits of the Pomodoro Method and 90-minutes Rule, you can opt for the 52-17 strategy as well. A recent study also showed that a work span of 52 minutes followed by a 17 minutes break has produced the maximum results.
The study also suggests that during the break the subject should be involved in any activity other than work and if possible should avoid all screen time to give a rest to brain processes. This would allow you to return to work with an even more active mind than before.
- Project Intervals
Project interval techniques are more applicable to employees being assigned multiple tasks. It might be more productive for you to divide those tasks in sequence and plan 10-15 minutes in between. The length of the break or project intervals should be directly proportional to the size of the upcoming project.
This would allow your brain to prepare your brain for the task and attribute undivided attention to it. The same strategy could also be applied to students or freelancers who might have their work due on several projects.
One general problem often found in people is the lack of motivation to get back to work at the end of these breaks. The issue often makes short intervals quite long, diminishing your working capacity instead of reviving it. Therefore, no matter how you prefer to spend your break time, you should have arrangements made beforehand to enable you to pursue your task.
Several apps, such as RescueTime allow you to establish a time efficiency between work time and break time and avoid distractions. These apps even help boost your motivation and willingness to get back to work.
You might be thinking that you have too busy of a schedule to take or even think of work breaks. The condition implied over here is to understand the importance of break and the best ways to spend it.
Your constant workhorse mode might not be able to achieve the productive results that you can get by honoring the above-mentioned 4 beneficial techniques on how to schedule breaks at work.
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