The Key to Increase Productivity Is a Break

Working in shorter sessions is more effective

The Vouchercloud group shared the results of a survey conducted on a group of 1989 employees in the United Kingdom:

New research from the UK’s largest money saving brand has revealed that the average UK office worker is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes out of the working day; with social media and trawling news websites labelled as the main distractions affecting employee productivity each working day.

2 hours and 53 minutes, shocking?

Many people say that they work 8 hours when they are actually at work for 8 hours, but the time of productive, actual work is around 3 hours. The traditional work dimension is a subject of discussion more often, but changes in this area are not easy to implement.

That is hard to change as an appropriate “employment contract” usually includes a full-time job (8-hour working day, 160h/month). The labor code regulates everything, and this type of employment usually provides complete health protection and covers other insurance premiums, thanks to which it is beneficial to many people. The change is easier for people that work as freelancers, remote, B2B, or, of course, the very popular these days- entrepreneurs.

What would be the ideal working time?

In 2017, The Draugiem Group conducted a study of employee productivity through applications that tracked the tasks they focused on their computers. It turned out that the group taking regular breaks was much more productive than those who worked long sessions without actual breaks. The second group’s problem was that they took these breaks completely unconsciously, while the first group was resting “intentionally” which made them more productive later on.

Whether we like it or not, our brain needs a break. That has to do with its activity, more specifically its waves. There are waves: Gamma (Intense concentration and learning), Beta (Problem-solving and engaging), Alpha (relaxing and recharging), Theta (Dreaming, “autopilot” states, and learning), Delta (Deep, Dreamless Sleep). It is easy to deduce that we would like to be in Gamma, Beta, or Theta farthest (mechanical tasks, e.g., excel) for work. The problem is that our brain cannot hold one wave all the time and works according to a given cycle. So what can we do to fit into this cycle as well as possible? The results of the Draugiem Group research show that:

According to our research, it’s best to work and focus for 45 minutes and then take a ten-minute break away from the computer.”

Of course, when working in the traditional dimension, such a work mode is challenging to achieve and even not always possible. A lot of people work those 8 hours burning out and rest after work. The above results clearly show that it is ineffective, but it doesn’t matter because the employer requires it anyway.

Nevertheless, it does offer some opportunities for those who are self-employed or who work remotely. Referring to The Vouchercloud research from the beginning of the article:

“This is particularly good news for freelancers and others who work from home. It’s easy to feel like you’re not “doing” enough when you don’t have to go into an office. Yet this research suggests that if you’re productive for just three hours a day, you’re outputting the same amount as someone in the office for eight hours.”

That is excellent news for people working from home. Nobody forces us to work 8 hours in a row, from the X hour to the Y hour. Thanks to this, we can work in shorter work sessions, trying to achieve the same (or higher) productivity broken into shorter work sessions. It looks flawless, but it’s not that easy.

Consciously changing tasks to achieve the highest possible productivity is not an easy task. It is worth pursuing, because thanks to this, we can take care of other aspects of life while executing the same productivity as someone working in the traditional dimension.

What methods can help with this?

1. “Pomodoro” technique.

It is a working system that usually consists of 25 minutes of productivity (any task — work, study, etc.) and 5 minutes of rest. In other words, choose a task, and just for 25 minutes, try to do as much as possible and then take a break no matter where you left off. It is worth downloading one of the available applications, which you can find under the obvious phrase “Pomodoro app Android / IOS”.

A work session does not have to be 25 minutes long. You can skip the break and do a second session immediately if you feel up to it. In my case, the session lasts 27 minutes, and I usually skip the first break, so this “productivity session” usually lasts 54 minutes. That fits quite well with the well-known “The Rule of 52 and 17”, which is 52 minutes of productivity and 17 minutes of rest. So then, what I do fits into these two systems of work at the same time. I encourage everyone to experiment and determine their length of “focus time” or break in the Pomodoro application.

2. How to work in “concentration sessions” and move between tasks

The “productivity session” system is relatively easy to implement. It seems much more difficult to change the tasks we are focused on. In other words — sometimes it’s hard to get ready to work or study, but when we start, we will stay for longer on the task- this is, in a way, a funny result of human laziness. We don’t want to start, but once we start, we won’t want to go to the other room, set up the console, or look for a TV show, so as a result, we are lazy to the fun. That is probably why most people choose the 8-hour working day because it does not require intentional switching between tasks. You can then say to yourself — “now there is work, then it will be fun”, which is quite a traditional division of life.

So the work system looks like this: Session to focus on a given task -> break -> session of focus on another task

The scheme is simple, and the only problem can be changing the tasks we focus on.

However, if something is easy, fun, or convenient, it is usually ineffective and of low value.

Moving between tasks is like “turning on consciousness” and getting out of the compulsive behavior that we perform during the day.

What does it require?

First and foremost, a clear plan, in my case, simpler plans on paper work best.

Then, the key to moving between tasks turns out to be a quick decision and real movement of our body. As long as we stay “in mind,” we’ll keep making more excuses for why we don’t want to move.

The secret to productivity lies in reacting faster and simply getting yourself busy instead of staying in the head and creating an excuse for not doing it.

The American author, motivational speaker, and television host Mel Robbins says a lot about it.

In her book “5 Seconds Rule” we read:

The 5 Second Rule The moment you have an instinct to act on a goal you must 5–4–3–2–1 and physically move or your brain will stop you.

As silly as it sounds, it works. I remember using this method, and I counted 5–4–3–2–1 in my head, and I was moving. Today I don’t do it anymore, but this technique helped me at the beginning of my adventure with dynamic task change, so maybe it will also help you.

Hesitation is the kiss of death. You might hesitate for a just nanosecond, but that’s all it takes. That one small hesitation triggers a mental system that’s designed to stop you. And it happens in less than — you guessed it — five seconds.

A simple countdown allows you to eliminate the pointless internal dialogue or perfectionism that many people suffer. Another quote from the book:

Start before you’re ready. Don’t prepare, begin.

I recommend trying it and combining it with a specific task. Choose a task, turn on the Pomodoro application, count down 5–4–3–2–1 and you may be pleasantly surprised at what you can achieve in this one 25-minute session, then take a break and repeat as many times as you feel it’s necessary.

The Takeaway

In my opinion, it is worth working in shorter work sessions and taking intentional breaks. For work or other tasks, “Pomodoro” works best for me, and to change tasks, you need a good plan and the ability to “turn on awareness” and focus on a given task, in which the Mel Robbins technique can help.

What’s more, during the breaks, you can do any other activities, making up for any arrears in other aspects of life. For example, “challenging 100 push-ups during the day” and doing 1–2 sets at each break away from the computer. Maybe you don’t have time for full training during the day, but you can always achieve something even in this way.

It is worth experimenting with productivity “your way” instead of duplicating commonly known patterns. So I encourage both to take breaks and evaluate real productivity, which I am actively fighting for three years, trying to count and analyze “productive time”.

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