Stop, in the name of productivity   |  September 11, 2008  

How to take a break and get more done

By Mark Lorne

E-mail. Meetings. Phone calls. Reports. Projects. Targets. Quotas. On any given day, work piles up and getting it all done can seem impossible. So what do you do?

Take a break. According to productivity expert Ann Gomez, a little downtime may be the most productive thing you do today.

Employees have traditionally displayed dedication and productivity by working all out, all day. But this only looked like productivity, said Gomez, the president of consulting firm Clear Concept. It actually achieved the opposite result: working without breaks, skipping lunch or doing 12-hour days increases mistakes, decreases the ability to concentrate, lowers engagement in tasks and pushes workplace morale into the ground.

That’s hardly the desired outcome. Instead, Gomez said workers should be encouraged to relax for at least 10 minutes a few times per day. “Once employees have a break and are refreshed, they are more focused, able to generate more creative ideas and work faster, and ultimately they deliver work of higher quality.”

In fact, in a recent multi-country study on workplace breaks, employees were tasked with taking a computer-based intelligence test designed to induce stress. They were then given 10 minutes to surf the Internet before resuming the test. Measurements taken throughout showed that, after a break, stress went down and productivity improved.

Build in the break
That sounds good but we all know the reality: arrive at work and the day begins to fill with e-mail and phone calls and requests from colleagues. Soon it’s 5:00 or 6:00 or 7:00 and another day has gone by with no rests. To combat this, break time must hold the same priority as those meetings and messages. Gomez outlines three steps for making that happen.

1) Recognize the benefits. People who take breaks are more productive, not less. Recognizing this is the first step.

2) Control your schedule. Enter breaks in your calendar or To-Do list before each day fills up. Even better, make a commitment—such as meeting a friend for coffee or attending a class—so that you are less likely to skip the break.

3) Establish the habit. Take a scheduled break every day for three weeks. At the end of that time, it will be part of your routine and you will stick with it.

All of this, of course, must start with the management team. First, managers need to welcome the sight of employees chatting in the halls, reading a novel or heading out for a walk. Any “I’m not paying you to stand around” stares still in the management toolkit must be excised. Second, managers must lead by example: grab a magazine, chat with a co-worker or—best of all—lead a 20-minute yoga class in the break room.

Offices are busy places, with goals, budgets and schedules, and that’s how it should be. The best way to achieve those corporate goals is by ensuring employees are anything but busy for a few minutes every day.

What does a rest look like?
A break is any change that takes you out of your standard work mindset for a few minutes. Here are four tips to building an effective break.

1) Vary your routine. Make a small change, even if you continue working: stand up during a phone call, or hold a meeting while you stroll down the hall with a colleague.

2) Change your surroundings. Hit the company lounge or visit a co-worker, instead of sending an e-mail.

3) Stop for food and drink. North Americans tend to take the shortest lunch breaks. Also, research tells us frequent small meals sustain alertness much better than fewer heavier ones, and adequate hydration helps maintain both concentration and coordination.

4) Get moving. Walk or jog every 90 to 120 minutes. Ten minutes of brisk walking increases the heart rate and leaves people feeling more energized for up to two hours, and regular physical activity makes it easier to manage both physical and emotional stress. 
 

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Mark Lorne is general manager, technology, at Grand & Toy.


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