4 Practical Tips for Taking Time Away From Work
This post is part of my How to Actually Get Things Done Series, which covers these four principles for productivity:
- Take control of your time
- Know your priorities
- Minimize distractions
- Take time off
This post digs into principle #4. Check out the other posts in this series:
We need time away from work, no matter what type of work we do. We get exhausted and can burn out by using our brain in the same ways day in and day out. Time away from work can be a day off here and there, a weeklong vacation (or staycation!), or even just a 10-minute break. You need to recognize when you just can’t anymore and need to step away.
Here are some ways to know you need a break:
- You’re having trouble focusing
- You’re spinning your wheels, feeling blocked without any new ideas
- You feel incredibly overwhelmed
- You’re not excited about work that you used to love
- You have physical discomfort from working (dry eyes, neck pain, sore feet, etc)
Let’s dig into some practical tips for how to take time off and recharge:
1. Take breaks throughout the day
- In Daniel Pink’s book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (highly recommend!), he writes “if we stick with a task too long, we lose sight of the goal we’re trying to achieve, a process known as ‘habituation.’ Short breaks from a task can prevent habituation, help us maintain focus, and reactivate our commitment to a goal. And frequent short breaks are more effective than occasional ones.”
- Short breaks from your computer/work can be hugely rejuvenating and can make you more productive when you get back to your desk. These can be as short as 5 minutes!
2. Make your breaks screen-free
- To really get the full benefits of a break, make it a screen-free break. Yes, this is hard, but it’s worth it!. Let your brain take a rest. Pink writes about a South Korean study that showed that “relaxation breaks (stretching or daydreaming) eased stress and boosted mood in a way that multitasking breaks did not.”
- Research proves that the brain needs time to think to process information and you’ll be amazed how having screen-free time for your brain to be on its own will help you remember things you forgot to do, find clarity in situations, etc.
3. Schedule your breaks
- Taking breaks can be hard to do in practice because we are so focused on getting things done, answering that email, etc.
- Be intentional about taking a break by scheduling it into your calendar for the day.
- Try to avoid scheduling back to back events in your calendar so that you can get up, grab a snack, stretch your legs, etc.
- Think about the energy level you’ll need to provide for each event/task for the day and consider scheduling a break after something you anticipate will drain your energy.
4. Take your paid time off when you need to recharge
- The ability to take time off from work depends on the benefits you have at your job. But hopefully you have some paid time off that you can take at your leisure.
- You need this time off to rejuvenate, relax, take care of things outside of work, etc. Ideally you are not only using PTO for vacations, but also using it when you just need some time to chill.
- When you find yourself feeling burnt out at work, that’s a sign you need some extended time away from it. Maybe that’s a day or maybe it’s a week.
- Some of us feel guilty for taking time off but if you’re burnt out from work, then you’re not bringing the best version of yourself to work which ends up not being good for you, your team, or the work.
I hope you found these tips helpful in figuring out how to take short (and long) breaks from your work. That’s a wrap on this series! I’m always happy to chat about time management, productivity and prioritization! Hit me up on twitter @alikrausman.
