You probably already know that taking breaks is essential to staying productive, but you may not know what’s best to do with those breaks. Diving into a good book can help keep your brain stimulated, while giving you a chance to step back from your work.
Avoiding any activity during your work breaks might sound preferable, but you’re also telling your brain and body to rest, potentially killing any productive flow you might have going. Joe Stewart, a designer at Work & Co., suggests reading instead:
It calms me down, gets me focused, and lets me think about the bigger picture... When I am running out of steam and I’m getting distracted, I grab a book and do the same thing. Read for 15 to 20 minutes. I find myself re-focused and fresh, it’s like taking a nap... it seems like I’m using a different part of my brain—so my design brain gets to rest and my reading brain stimulates me. I come back ready to go and feeling content.
When you’re reading, the gears in your head are still turning, and you sort of bypass telling your brain to power down. You can choose to read something related to your work or not. Whatever will grab hold of your interest. You still get to do something you enjoy during your break, plus you get the benefit of coming back to your work with a fresh perspective. Taking a break doesn’t have to mean doing nothing.
32 Productivity Tips from the World’s Top Designers | Fast Company via 99U
Photo by Pedro Ribeiro Simoes.