Since I am on holiday this week, you are getting a juicy throwback from when I published my book ‘Reclaim your Time Off’. Enjoy!

I am asking you to take a break right now. I know you don’t want to. Why? Because you’re too busy, that’s why.

Even making time to read this had be carefully planned. I am here to tell you that I get you.

Over the past month, I have been feeling a lot like a fraud.

A gorgeous paperback copy of my book is now placed on my desk, its title winking at me. ‘Reclaim your Time Off’.

In the past month, I felt like I did everything but reclaiming my time. If it wasn’t an interview, it was a client. Work trip in Spain. New project for another client. Inbox overflowing.

I could have let that drag me down quite easily, instead I decided to put my productivity guinea pig hat on and figure out an emergency SOS plan for those times where truly, reclaiming time off is anything short but a miracle.

I went back to the drawing board, looking at what I could control and adapt. Breaks. What I could do was being more efficient with the ways I took breaks and recharged during my day.

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Why breaks, anyway?

Breaks get us back on track when energy dips. Our chronotype will dictate the focussed rhythm our brain goes through on any given working day. These interruptions we schedule can keep us alert for longer throughout the day, allowing our energy to replenish.

This is almost like a reset button for the brain. In the same study, it’s shown how repeating tasks leads to cognitive boredom, which in turn halts your ability to thrive at whatever you’re doing. The human brain just wasn’t built to focus for eight hours at a time—the best way to refresh attention span is to take a break.

The Harvard Business Review reminds us of another core benefit of breaks: they allow us to take a step back, take stock of our efforts and not rush into a task or project.

Especially after a long stretch of work, we just want to tick off that task that is pulsating in our heads. In the same piece, they explain how…

The lack of downtime will lead us to make more mistakes, and get less engaged with what we’re doing.

Is it better to only take two breaks during any given day, or to have more breaks, but shorter?

Productivity app DeskTime sifted through computer activity data of its 5.5 million daily logs to come up with the most productive workers.

The results showed how these people work for 52 minutes at a time, then break for 17 minutes before getting back to it. This showed that the most productive 10% of our users have in common is their ability to take effective breaks.

These breaks may be shorter, but they happen more frequently throughout the day.

According to a 2015 study carried out by researchers at Baylor University, the best time to take a break from work is earlier in the day. This study seemed to look at cases in which no breaks were introduced before lunchtime.

This also reminds us that breaks may not necessarily come natural to us, especially when focused on specific tasks or stuck in Zoom meetings.

We explored a few of these techniques before, and these include

What have I been implementing in the past 8 weeks, whilst life has been spiralling endlessly in every possible direction?

Yes, I came up with that. Far too often we find that we don't have the time to take breaks to truly reclaim our time.

I am talking about essential activities such as exercise, prepare a healthy meal, or even do nothing. One of the biggest hurdles is that we preconception that we need hours to accomplish these things.

I want your mindset to shift completely. Instead of thinking about 30-minute workouts, I want you to start incorporating something known as little as time snacks: these could be 10-minute exercises. It could be a quick snack that you can prepare in five minutes or meditation, a brisk walk, or anything else, to take a break from your screens and set physical boundaries.

This is not just good ol’ Fab talking. Researchers found that people get more out of their breaks when they do something they genuinely want to do during that downtime.

Over the past 2 months, I wanted to try and incorporate at least 3 of these 10 minute times next throughout the day.

Optimally, our work to break ratio should be five to one.

However, I appreciate that it might not always happen; even starting with three simple times, snacks could be ideal. To prepare your time snacks and decide what you're going to do within them.

Ask yourself: "what do I need the most right now?"

Is it movement? Is it mindfulness? Once you know that, go back to what you want to do, and ask yourself one more question: "What do I need to do or prepare to be able to fit these "snacks into my day"?”

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In a world of time sensitive tactics, evergreen strategies are a breath of fresh air. Enjoy!

There is a lot of talk in the productivity world around efficiency. Yet, I like to think about breaks as our way to embrace a mindset that encourages more being over doing.

I love how Tim Kreider describes breaks in The New York Times:

Breaks matter. Reclaiming your time should not be something relegated just for ‘some day’. Being kinder to ourselves and our brains can have long terms benefits which we can see years on.

All you have to do is step away from your screens right now.

Always cheering you on,

Fab ✌️