"It is now accepted wisdom that taking regular breaks during the workday makes one more productive. How long those breaks should be, however, depends on which productivity method you are subscribed to. Recently, a University of Cambridge mental health researcher has suggested that longer breaks could, in fact, be more effective at tackling those afternoon slumps. "The most productive people work for about 52 minutes at a time and then take 17-minute breaks," Olivia Remes shared on Instagram."
"The brain is a muscle that, like every other, can be overstretched. Incessantly being bombarded with emails and Slack messages, juggling calendars and jumping at the Microsoft Teams ringtone, hopping on and off and back on Zoom, and fielding work texts . . . all can cause information and cognitive overload. As many don't have the option to work less, a number of productivity hacks have emerged instead-from the MTR framework and time blocking to my beloved Pomodoro method."
Many people use 25-minute focus intervals followed by five-minute breaks, treating the short pause like a reward. Regular breaks during the workday improve productivity, though optimal break length varies by productivity method. A 52/17 rule prescribes working about 52 minutes then taking a 17-minute break and is promoted as effective against afternoon slumps. Continuous digital interruptions from email, Slack, calendar alerts, Teams and Zoom cause information and cognitive overload. Productivity techniques like MTR, time blocking and the Pomodoro method help manage focus, but the quality of breaks — especially fully disconnecting from technology — matters for performance.
Read at Fast Company
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]