How to make the most of your Coffee Break
A quick list of things you can do in your coffee break that will help you maximize your time and maybe accomplish a few goals.
Learn a New Language
I recently found a podcast series called CoffeeBreak that aims to teach you different languages during your coffee break. That’s actually how I got the idea for this post and using my coffee break more productively.
The CoffeeBreak podcast is from Radio Lingua Network and they have lessons for Spanish, French, Italian, German and Chinese.
A quick search will reveal that there are a lot of podcasts out there that offer the same type of lessons, but if that’s not your cup of coffee there are a lot of ways out there to learn a new language from books to smartphone apps.
Take your coffee cup for a walk
If you work in an office at a desk you probably spend too much time in a chair staring at a computer monitor. Taking your coffee cup and taking even a small walk around the building or just explore a new floor in the building will help you stretch out a bit and come back to work energized and relaxed.
Try an eye relaxation technique
Speaking of staring at a computer monitor, your eyes need a break too. This is a trick that I learned from my eye doctor a few years ago and it’s helped me a lot, not just as a way of relaxing my eyes but also my mind.
First, find a window and start by focusing your eyes on things that are near to you and then progressively focus on things that are slightly farther away until you are looking at the farthest thing you can see ( hopefully the horizon), after 5 seconds take the steps in reverse focusing on things that are nearer to you until you reach your hands. Close your eyes for a few seconds and then do this 2 more times.
Paying attention to the objects that you focus on and the cadence will feel a lot like meditating and it’s a great way to get a little bit of mindfulness in your life.
Watch a TEDTalk
While you sip on a hot cup of joe, sit back and be inspired by awesome speakers at the famous conference. Most talks are a bit long for a coffee break but fortunately, the TED website has a handy playlist with shorter ones that are just perfect. It’s actually called “Short talks to watch during your coffee break” and you can find it here. For more options check out the search for talks under 6 mins here.
Tidy up your desk
If you are the type of person that gathers things on their desk you might find it really useful to take the few seconds between sips to put some things away or classify them. A clean and tidy desk will help you focus better at work and will help you destress a little bit.
Bonus: The best time to take a coffee break
If you have the luxury to take your coffee break whenever you want you can time it so you can get the most out of it. I recently found this article talking about the best time to take a break: in the first half of the day. It’s quite a small study so it might be worth tuning it to your own rhythm but it’s a great starting point.
Did you try any of these tricks, what do you think? Please let me know in a comment bellow or hit the like button, it helps a lot!
