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Searching for the Optimal Work Break
Exhausting one’s self with work, looking for the optimal way to take a break, we can easily lead ourselves astray with breaks that run us off course, lasting forever.
What other option do we have?…
“You need to get into the habit of taking frequent ‘dopamine breaks,’ as I call them. They are a little five minute windows when you do something completely different.”[^1]
Particularly for those with wandering minds, it can be very helpful to take periodic breaks.
The Pomodoro Technique, for example, describes a method of working for 25 minute bursts interspersed with 5 and occasionally 20 minute breaks.
While doing something completely different is useful, it might be worth considering its depth. We can easily say that social media, email, and the like are different from whatever it was that we were just doing. However, many of these can draw us far away from our original intentions.
We could examine our breaks deliberately, considering how consuming they are and instead choose a quick burst of exercise, grabbing a healthy snack, or making a short trip for a glass of water.
But for myself, there may be an even better break:
For a few moments, pause, and simply be.
Thoughts have a way of coalescing, “aha” moments tend to appear more frequently, and we better engage from a sense of centeredness.
Remembering that pausing is an option is the tricky part.
– Kourosh
PS. I really appreciate Shankman’s approach. He has a wonderfully positive view.
[^1]: Shankman, Peter. *Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain*. TarcherPerigee, 2017, p40
What is Productivity?
Productivity is many things. For some, it is about doing a lot in a little time.
But, truly, productivity is so much more. It is about:
- Setting yourself up for success.
- Being focused where you want to be.
- Doing things that you find meaningful.
- Being creative, sometimes even in harsh environments.
- Forging your own paths.
- Finding your voice and delivering it well.
- Knowing and actively deciding on your obligations.
- Knowing where and how to say “no”.
- Avoiding procrastination.
Too often, many of us fall into just going along with and fighting whatever the world throws at us. “Go with the flow!”, we say. Meanwhile, we might think, “I’d like to do that one thing. Maybe one day I will.” The days go by. The goal never arrives, and then we wonder why or blame circumstance.
But when we learn to take charge of our lives and the world
around us, we start living life with intention.
Of course, striking out may seem scary. It takes courage to live life with purpose and on purpose. Roadblocks and worries, fears and concerns show up everywhere.
This is my passion. I want to help you to find that sense of your own unique play to meet the world so that you can:
- Create a life that is yours.
- Find and follow an inner guide in a way that works for you and those you care for.
- Decide on your obligations and meet them while building the world you want.
Productivity Journal
John Keats on Achievement
"... several things dovetailed in my mind, & at once it struck me, what quality went to form a Man of Achievement especially in Literature & which Shakespeare possessed so enormously—I mean Negative Capability, that is when man is capable of being...
Good Stress Is Still Stress
Good Stress Is Still Stress
Sun & Garden
There's nothing new under the sun. All we do is tend the garden. --- Who originally said this phrase? I can't seem to find the attribution, and I often find myself thinking about it.
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