Use your breaks to boost performance!

Whether you've recently returned from your holidays & are frantically trying to beat that heap of awaiting paperwork or maybe you work in education & are grafting overtime to be ready for the next academic year, here's how you can use breaks as your secret weapon!

1) When? - identify when to take breaks. If your 'in the zone' then there is no sense in stopping here, take a break if your finding a piece of work stressful, physically demanding or you struggle to concentrate.

2) Where? - even if you feel comfortable at your work station, you will work so much better on return if you temporarily change your environment. Go to the staff room, catch up with colleagues in another dept or best yet go for a wonder & get some fresh air. Often the most effective breaks are those spent in environments opposite to our working environment: E.g. If you're sat down indoors - get up & walk outdoors, if you do active work out side - sit down in the warmth with a cuppa & chat.

3) How long? obviously don't 'milk it' otherwise you're boss will probably give you a longer break than you wanted. Just a 5 minute break can be extremely effective. If you don't have the freedom to take your own breaks or really feel you don't have time then try changing tasks for a short while instead as this can have a similar effect.

4) Why? our mind & body work best when sufficiently stimulated. If we have a sedentary or repetitive job then we easily start to switch off & not produce our best work. The more restricted we are in our job, the more important it is to stimulate our senses by changing our environment, even just changing the layout / lighting / colour of your office can have a beneficial affect.

How many of you have your lunch at your desk? - yeah me too. Lets just try it out today & see if it makes a difference, we have nothing to lose & perhaps a lot to gain!


P.S. struggling to concentrate can often be caused by dehydration so grab a glass of water on your walk about too.