Take More Breaks to Get More Done

5 proven ways breaks increase productivity and creativity.

Think you need to work more to get more done? Not necessarily.

Research has found that employees who take about one break per hour perform better than those that don’t take breaks. Break-taking employees are also more focused and productive.

In the end, they work fewer hours but get more, and better, work done.

Here’s how taking a break helps us.

1. Our decision making improves.

A study conducted by researchers at Princeton showed that judges denied parole to prisoners more and more often as the day went on. Early in the day, they approved 65% of parole requests and as the day wore on without a break they leveled off an approval rate of…0%. After a short mental break, they hovered around 65% again.

This “decision fatigue” applies to your work as well. If you don’t give your mind a break, you’ll begin to make unfair and just plain bad business decisions.

2. Our creativity increases if we take “moving breaks.”

Walking breaks improve your creativity and increase your “Aha!” moments.

A study from Stanford University showed that 81% to 100% of participants became more creative when they went for a walk as opposed to just sitting down. Even after they returned from their walk and did sit down, their creative boost lingered.

Research has shown that even a five-minute walk break will improve your overall well-being and creativity.

3. Breaks keep our minds focused.

Alejandro Lleras, University of Illinois psychology professor, explains.

“Deactivating and reactivating your goals allows you to stay focused. From a practical standpoint, our research suggests that, when faced with long tasks (such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes), it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task!”

The human brain evolved for constant broad-spectrum vigilance as a protective mechanism. Because of this, we can’t focus on one precise subject for very long as a species. Some of us can, but the rest of us lose focus if we don’t give ourselves a break from it.

Take 5 and your focus will return.

4. Breaks make us happier by reducing stress.

A recent study found those call center employees who took short breaks were happier with their work, increased their energy, and boosted their enthusiasm. This translated to gains in sales performance.

Breaks make us more resilient in dealing with stressors, and when we don’t stress disable us, we are happier and more productive. This is similar to the well-known benefits of getting a good night’s sleep.

Breaks just make us happier, less stressed people.

5. Breaks improve our memory.

Evidence suggests that resting while awake, i.e. taking a break, improves memory formation. Usually, scientists associate memory formation with sleeping but they’ve found that just taking a break enhances this formation as well.

Increased memory increases efficiency and productivity. It also helps in the continued performance of our jobs over multiple day information processing as we have less “now what was going on with this situation?” scenarios to recap.

Taking a break is like an adrenaline shot to our memory function and fuel for our day to day continuity of thought.

Conclusion

Tim Kreider wrote in The New York Times:

“Space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.”

Keep on grinding, but always remember to give your mind the occasional break.

It will reward you with productivity, creativity, and a sense of well-being you won’t find in a non-stop grind.