Taking a productive break during work hours is a great way to refresh and refocus your mind. But what exactly constitutes as a productive break? The answers might vary, but such an activity could include various tasks which will enhance mental and physical productivity. And certainly those tasks would not include aimless scrolling through your social media! 😉
When you have been working for long hours at a stretch, you are not only mentally drained but it is stressful to the eyes as well. Since most of our jobs require constant staring at the computer screens, it gets really tiresome.
Sometimes, people get engrossed in their work and don’t leave their desks until lunch breaks. In that case, the 1 or 1.5 hour lunch break is all they have to relax and rejuvenate their mind. This is not a good practice as your mind and body need pauses from a continuous rigorous activity. Hence, it is recommended that you take short breaks from continuously working in a same posture every hour or so. I personally work for about 1.5 hours at a stretch and then take a 10-15 minute break.
Below are discussed 11 productive ideas for taking breaks during your work hours, to help you gain energy for your mind and body when you resume your work. You can easily perform any of these activities on your short breaks. You can schedule as many of these as possible in your longer lunch break as well.
1. EXERCISE/STRETCH/WALK
Either you take just a single break during your whole work day or you take multiple short breaks during the day, don’t forget the importance of stretching. It is great for your mind and body and helps you keep active throughout the day.
You can incorporate physical activity by taking a walk to grab your lunch from nearby café, or if you don’t have to buy food then just a simple walk outdoors is good enough. If you keep a yoga mat handy at your work place, then you can take it outdoors and make full use of it. This however depends on the weather and your work location. So if going outdoors is not possible, use the yoga/exercise mat in your work place and have a good 15-20 min stretch. If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of exercise mat (and any other exercise equipments) then there are innumerable easy exercises/stretch techniques available online that you can perform from the comfort of your office chair.
While stretching your body, don’t forget that you can utilize this time to do facial exercises as well. They hardly take 5 minutes and are super easy to perform.
2. MEDITATE
Another productive idea for work break is meditation. Meditation is a great way to give your mind and body a much needed pause. It helps in increasing mental focus, reduction in anxiety and stress, and enhancing your memory. The stillness of the moment is sometimes the key to clear up the cutter accumulated in your brain.
There are many different form of meditation that you can practice. It can either be a guided or unguided practice. Mindfulness, spirituality and mantra meditation are among the most popular ones. This is such a diverse topic that one can’t recommend a fit for all solution. Meditate indoors on your yoga mat, do any spiritual practice that aligns with your beliefs or just sit in silence and focus on your breaths. The idea is to give your brain a moment to pause and focus on your thoughts to achieve concentration and awareness.
Don’t stress yourself about being perfect at it from day one. It’s usually pretty hard to focus on your thoughts in the beginning (speaking from personal experience). The trick is to be consistent every day for whatever amount of time is feasible for you. Just start with 5 minutes a day (or some people even do it for 2 minutes in the beginning), then gradually increase the duration once you start getting in the flow, and reap the benefits along the way.
3. READ A BOOK
If you like to read books but also struggle to find time for it and don’t feel like reading before bed because you feel exhausted, it’s better to accommodate your reading time during your work breaks. This way you can not only read multiple books simultaneously (yes that’s possible!) but also don’t feel guilty when you miss your bedtime reading due to tiredness.
You can designate single or multiple slots for reading throughout the day. For example, on an ideal day right before the start of my work routine, I try to read a chapter of my holy book. Then during the day, I keep a minimum 30-minute slot during work breaks for reading any self-development or productivity related book to keep me motivated. (These days I’m reading Start with Why by Simon Sinek ). If I get lucky then I end up reading something light right after I finish off my work for about 15-20 minutes. On most days if the before and after slots can’t be managed, at least the slot of during work hours is enough to tick on the box of my daily habit of reading.
It would be an added bonus if you have a physical book to read from, rather than staring on the screen. This way you will utilize your work break to the maximum by giving your eyes a rest from the screen glare as well.
4. LISTEN TO A PODCAST
Podcasts have been such a trend lately, and I must confess, I have been late to jump on the bandwagon! There are many informative, productive and educational podcasts available that you can listen to in your work breaks. Of course you can also choose the ones from entertainment category. I personally gravitate towards the current affairs or personal development ones to keep me updated and inspired during my work hours. (The entertainment stuff I usually keep for after office hours).
Listening to podcasts is such an interesting activity for productive work break because you can perform other tasks while performing it. For example, you can enjoy your meal by savouring every bite while listening to your favorite podcast. Though I personally prefer to practice mindfulness in whatever I’m doing as much as possible, hence I suggest to enjoy one thing at a time to relax your mind and feel calm after your work break.
5. PREPARE A CALMING DRINK
Another productive break idea for work is to replenish your water intake. (Have a look at some of the best bottles that motivate you to drink more water). Aside from plain water, having a cup of calming drink during the work break is divine! Preparing your drink during work break is a great activity to move your body from a stagnant position. If you work from home, then you have the added advantage of access to your pantry where you would keep your teas and drinks. You can try a new recipe or prepare a drink any time your heart desires.
For folks working in a traditional office setup, having a mini pantry stocked with your favorite teas is a life changer! Any tea lovers here would agree that preparing exotic teas and enjoying them in beautiful tumblers (like this pretty little thing) works as a conversation starter among your colleagues.
6. SOLVE A PUZZLE
To keep your mind active and attentive, solving puzzles would contribute as a productive work break activity. It increases your mental attentiveness and helps your brain focus and concentrate on the tasks more effectively. A quick and fun way to give your brain power some much needed boost. Crossword puzzles for adults like this one is a good option to try!
7. LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE
If you have a zest for learning new languages, or learning commonly used phrases in different languages, you can use your work break for this productive activity. You can allocate as little as 15 minutes to practice a new language. Depending on your learning level, you can utilize this time to enhance your knowledge. For example, for an upper-beginner level, you can learn a new word and try to make at least 5 sentences with it. For an absolute beginner, one can learn a bunch of new words like different forms of vocabulary sets, etc.
8. SPEND TIME WITH PLANTS
Keeping plants in your work area is beneficial to your overall health as they purify the air around. They also add a pleasant look to the overall ambience of your work space. Whether it’s your work from home setup or workstation at office, you can keep a plant (or plants) that fits your available space.
Spending time with plants and maintaining them is a therapeutic hobby that you can practice daily in your productive work breaks. You can water them as per their requirement and take care of the damaged leaves, if any. Manage your activity as per your break slot and you will surely feel fresh and relaxed afterwards.
9. ORGANISE YOUR WORK SPACE (PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL)
This goes without saying that a tidy, mess free workspace is excellent for your mental focus and productivity. During your work breaks, you can allocate some time to organize physical items on your desk to keep it clean and clear from unnecessary junk. Similarly, it’s a good habit to keep your monitor and phone screens clear of unused folders/icons/apps, etc. A frequent cleaning and organizing ritual for your workspace will reduce the visual as well as mental clutter. (Want to know how to set up and maintain a clutter free work space, read more here).
10. SPEND TIME AT YOUR VISION BOARD
Another productive idea for work break is to spend time at your vision board. Vision boards are a great way to keep you inspired and motivated. You can set up a vision board by placing pictures of objects and situations that you want to achieve and experience in your life. You can even keep a separate board for professional and personal life. These boards can be easily created at your home office or conventional office setup alike. For optimum results, keep your vision board neat and organized.
Spending time at your vision board daily helps you keep focused on your end goals and makes you work consistently with determination and motivation. It is one of the best ways to practice law of attraction (if you haven’t read about it, I highly recommend you to read this life-transforming book).
11. TRY A NEW HOBBY
It’s never too late in life to pick up a new hobby. Learning guitar, starting a new blog, colouring mandalas, making crochets, learning Origami….the list goes on. The amazing thing about these pastime activities is that you can fit them into your limited time slot of work breaks easily. Most of the above mentioned hobbies can be practised whether you work from home or a conventional office. However, if carrying your hobby equipment (like guitar) to your office seems tedious, then you can store it in a designated place if you have suitable space available. They are a fun way to help you learn some new skills as well as refreshing your mind for better focus on your work related tasks.
