Take breaks to boost your performance at work

We often underestimate the importance of having breaks during the day. It is sometimes associated with wasting time or being lazy. However breaks are crucial to work efficiently and can even boost your performance.

Needless to say that most jobs are stressful and take a lot of our daily energy. Whether you have an office job or a handy one, you will feel tired by the end of the day. This is because in most cases you will be asked to solve different kind of problems and you will need your brain or physical power to get it done. Sometimes you have so many that taking a break simply seems impossible. But break can on the contrary help you a lot in those situations. Humans are like machines, they have a limited energy supply that they need to refill. During long working hours, it is impossible for you to perform without recharging your batteries from time to time. After several hours, your ability to focus will go down and trying to fight will tire you even more.

But the problem is that most people don’t use break in the right way. In most cases, people tend to either go grab a cigarette, take a snack or vent out their problem to a peer. Those breaks are actually associated with more fatigue and creates a negative pressure on the mind. The most important component of a break is psychological detachment, which means shifting your mind away from any work thoughts.

Another important component is positive thoughts. Bringing positive thought to your mind will help you balance from the negative ones related to work and make your regain your energy to focus. There are different ways to achieve that, here are few example of what you can do:

• Meditation helps clear your mind and bring your level of stress down. You can simply go in a quiet place and listen to one of the amazing meditation apps that exist with your earplugs.
• Physical activity helps you increase blood flow to your brain necessary for focus and attention. We don’t always have a gym at work, so you can simply go for a walk right outside your workplace for just a couple of minutes.
• Learn something new or play a game will help you disconnect and boost your motivation.
• Help a colleague will bring you a sense of connection and some social interaction, positive for your brain.
• Setting a new goal and think about a future project will also have positive impact on your mind in trying to look at a bigger picture than the task you just need to finish.

During all these activities, we also recommend to grab a cup of tea of course! Whether after your meditation, during a walk or with a colleague, tea will help you regain your energy without the negative effect of coffee.

So don’t forget! Have a break, think positive and take a sip 🙂