Why You Need to Give Yourself a Break This Year
As a Career Coach, I often work with my coaching clients as they try to find ways to work more productively and get more done. And I love those conversations. But sometimes, the best way to be more productive…is to not be productive. What we need more of, is less doing. After two years of stress, uncertainty, and aggravation from the covid pandemic, now more than ever we need to embrace the ideas of rest and play. Those are the productivity tools missing from our toolbox. And when used properly, they can supercharge our work and leave us feeling a little bit more sane. In this article, we will explore the idea of incorporating “rest” into our routines. In a follow-up article, we will explore the idea of “play”.
If you’ve ever taken up a workout plan, you’ll have noticed that every schedule includes “rest days”. Incorporated into almost every workout routine are breaks. For athletes, rest is part of doing the work. Yet for corporate workers, we’ve somehow turned the idea of rest into something negative that induces guilt. As a result, we need to reframe the idea of breaks and rest as part of our training plan. Why? Well, there are numerous benefits to pressing pause on our work.
Re-Engage in the Task
The biggest reason we should incorporate breaks into our routine is because our brain actually needs rest. We know that sleep is important and provides us with opportunities to solidify our memory. Taking short breaks can also provide us with similar benefits to allow our brain time to recharge. For example, our prefrontal cortex is heavily involved in our ability to work towards goals and keeping us focused. Both of these skills are essential to succeeding in today's work environment. However, our brains also like novelty. As a result, our attention wanes when we spend too much time on a task. Much like how we become desensitized to a smell over time, our brains can become desensitized to a task. University of Illinois psychology professor, Alejandro Lleras, found that prolonged attention to a particular task can hinder performance. What helps? Taking a break! This allows the brain to re-engage in the task with increased attention and concentration which can lead to the breakthrough you have been waiting for.
In my own work routine, I felt a huge difference when I started to take a one hour lunch break in the middle of my day. On the days I take that break and disconnect from my work, I gain the energy and focus needed to tackle the remainder of my day without running on fumes. On the days I don't get that break, I feel like I’ve just finished running a marathon at the end of the day. One those days, I feel a significant level of exhaustion and brain fog, even after accounting for that extra hour of working. Taking that mid-day break allows my brain the rest it needs to better transition between tasks, reset, and re-energize to get on with the rest of my day.
Avoid the “Hamilton Error”
Breaks also improve our quality of work, particularly when it comes to decisions. In the musical Hamilton, Eliza sings to Hamilton, “Take a break, run away with us for the summer, let's go upstate”. And if you’ve seen the musical, then you know that Hamilton really should have taken that break instead of staying in the city to do more work. That poor decision to keep pushing on his work resulted in him getting into BIG trouble. This is also a prime example of decision fatigue. Our ability to make decisions, particularly complex and important ones, depletes throughout the day. So much so that I’ll offer you this advice…if you ever get in trouble with the law and have to see a judge, make sure your appointment is in the morning. In fact, one could even argue that had Alexander Hamilton taken a break and gone on vacation, he might have become President after all. So, don’t be Hamilton, take the break!
Get Creative
Just as taking a break can increase our attention and quality of work, it can also lead to more creativity. Walking, in particular, is a very effective way of taking a break. In a study from Stanford, people who took a walk reported a 81% increase in creativity as measured by a test of creative divergent thinking. The benefits were seen even when the participants stopped walking and came back inside.
I’ve seen the benefits of walking breaks first hand with multiple coaching clients. I have one client who particularly feels the positive effects of taking a walk. When they engage in this activity, it helps them de-stress while also helping open them up to ideas about their business. It simultaneously creates a feeling of replenishment and inspiration. In fact, now when this client is feeling rundown they immediately try to make time for a walk.
Take Time-Off
In addition to incorporating breaks into our daily work routine, we also need to continue to embrace longer breaks like vacation. We’ve all seen the studies that say the US is notorious for not using their vacation time. According to a study by Resume Now, 26% of respondents didn’t use all their vacation time. As a culture, we need to start to view vacation as a necessity. The benefits of vacation time are similar to those of taking breaks throughout the day such as increased ability to be present, lower stress levels, and increased creativity.
To change our perspective on vacation, we need to start by creating changes in management. If you are a manager or leader in your organization, know that your team is looking to you as an example. If you do not take your vacation time seriously, your team will be too afraid to ask for it. Additionally, it's important to understand that having refreshed employees will better position you to hit your team goals. As a result, pay attention to whether your team is taking their vacation days. When I was managing one of my teams, I had more than one employee who rarely took their vacation time. Before I arrived , they felt understaffed and like they needed to prove themselves to the company’s leadership team. However, I knew that my team was running on fumes and needed to take better care of themselves. As a result, I made it part of their goals to take time off. In other words, I ordered them to take vacation. They got to decide when and what they did with that time, but it had to be taken sometime that quarter. It was an extreme example, but necessary in my opinion. Managers can make a big difference in the culture around taking vacation in a company.
Summary
Overall, rest deserves to have a permanent place in our work routines. Rest is needed to keep being productive, make the best decisions, and come up with new creative ideas. I recommend incorporating both mini-breaks (like a lunch break) into your day and major breaks (like vacation). Now, I’m challenging you to find one new way of incorporating the idea of taking a break into your routine this year. What will you try?
