How to actually take a break
For those who feel tired, before and after
Here’s the thing, everyone tells you to take a break, to take some time away from work to relax and stuff. So you you take a break, and then you get back to work, and you still feel as tired as shit.
This is normal, and it’s one of the shittiest parts of the human experience in the digital age.
We need to take breaks to replenish our 'cognitive resources' (that’s a fancy term for mental energy) so that we can refocus. We use up cognitive resources every time we focus on work, whether big or small. But more often than not, we sit back down as tired and distracted as we were when we got up - and sometimes even worse.
Here’s what your typical break looks like:
You get home (or log out) after a long day at work
You sit down to watch a TV Show
You scroll through Twitter while watching
You finish the show
You expect to feel refreshed
Instead:
You realize you missed a lot of details
You feel as tired as you were before
This is because your attention gets divided between different things during your breaks. Fancy people like Cal Newport - the author of books like Deep Work & Digital Minimalism - call it Fragmenting your attention resources.
Like I explained before - using social media is like having a conversation with the whole internet all at once. Our caveman brains expect conversations to end, so they stay focused on it till they do.
But stuff like Social Media never 'ends', so a part of our brain is always thinking about that conversation. “What if I get a reply from the internet?” .
It’s where the urge to check our phones comes from too.
Our breaks become tiring because our brains keep working during them
Going back to the TV example, you split your attention between social media and the TV show. It's like you’re trying to focus on the song playing in your earphones, while trying to talk to someone.
The break is supposed to recharge your focus - instead it's draining it twice as fast.
Here’s how to take a proper break:
Plan your breaks
I don’t mean add ‘Take 1 hour break’ to your calendar. I mean make a list of fun things you want to do before hand. Here are the benefits of this:
You don’t waste time thinking of what to do when your break begins.
You have something to look forward to at the end of the work session.
If the break is something that requires stuff you don't have at home (like painting or crafting materials). then you have time to buy them before hand.
Note: Try to choose something with a clear start and end, or checkpoints in between.
For example: If you choose to make something artsy - you can choose to stop after applying all the glue to let it dry.
Go Offline
Not only for productivity, but notifications are a devil for focus during your breaks too. Keep the phone out of immediate reach.
Focus on nothing except the thing you have decided to do for your break.
Create a ritual
The last time you were completely absorbed in a movie was definitely when you went to the theater. That is, you booked tickets, got ready, left the house, bought overpriced snacks, and then sat down. All these actions prepared your brain to focus on nothing except the movie.
Similarly, creating different rituals for different types of breaks at home is a good idea too. For example, when I want to watch something for my break, I don’t switch it on and sit down, I do the following:
Optional: Create a special environment
This is something I can’t do yet because of many reasons, but if you have the time, money and space to create a room, or even a corner of a room into your ‘Break Environment’ that would be great.
You could deck it up with comfy pillows and a small speaker that plays your favorite songs, and only use that area when you’re taking a break.
Stay Organized
By staying organized, I mean being able to find everything that you need when you come back.
This is easy if you're only working on a single task, but if you’re working on many tasks at the same time - it can become easy to lose track of information.
Try to make a check-in and check-out ritual for your work sessions. During the check-out ritual you organize stuff, so that you find it during check-in.
Pro Tip: If you're like me and only have one device to take a break and work on, then consider using two or more virtual desktops. This helps reduce clutter on screen, and saves you from closing important tabs, documents, etc.
How to create a new desktop (Windows 10)
How to create a new desktop (Windows 11)
How to create a new desktop (Mac)
Unplug: Baratunde Thurstone Left the Internet for 25 Days, And You Should, Too
By Baratunde Thurstone | Read Here
Baratunde Thurston is a creator and entrepreneur who was called the most connected man in the world and he decided to disconnect from the internet because:
He was getting grouchy due to being constantly available
He had begun to resent emails and mobile notifications
He was tired of allowing people to enter his life and use his time
He considered taking a physical vacation, however that's not what he wanted - he wanted to take a digital vacation, or a Digital Detox of 25 Days. So he set the following rules, and stuck to them for 25 days:
Can use Personal Phone for Calls and Texts
Can schedule social meetings with friends and family using Google Calendar
Business related activities were completely prohibited, barring emergencies
All Social Media (Including E-Mail) would be prohibited
Before his detox began though, he made a list of activities that he wanted to do while he had no connections. Books he wanted to read, people he wanted to catch-up with, etc.
Bartunde took the ultimate break that one can in the digital age, and his response was amazing, he felt more present and less anxious, he had meaningful conversations with people that he met. While this exact thing is something that is out of reach for many of us, consider making changes in the way you interact with the internet - the full article has a lot of useful pointers.
Even if you don’t log out completely like him, you can learn a lesson or two from his thought process - he identified the thing that would refresh him the most and then planned a break accordingly, and it worked wonders for him.
Think about what is something you want to get away from the most and try to identify which activity can alleviate that feeling.
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This was quite helpful! Now I understand why don't my breaks feels satisfying enough