Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to take a better break today. Everyone takes
Speaker 1: breaks during the workday, whether they think they do or not.
Speaker 1: So if you are going to take a break at
Speaker 1: some point today, why not make it as rejuvenating and
Speaker 1: wonderful as possible. In some lines of work, breaks are
Speaker 1: formally built in. When I worked in a fast food
Speaker 1: restaurant many years ago, an eight hour shift was scheduled
Speaker 1: over nine hours because the working hours came with two
Speaker 1: fifteen minute breaks and one thirty minute break. My coworkers
Speaker 1: and I all took our fifteen minute breaks at set
Speaker 1: staggered times to make sure enough people were manning the
Speaker 1: kitchen and the registers. I imagine many people listening to
Speaker 1: this podcast work in slightly different ways. Breaks aren't so
Speaker 1: formally structured in your line of work. You work for
Speaker 1: a while, and then you do something different that isn't
Speaker 1: necessarily the core of your job until you resume work again.
Speaker 1: When I have observed people and discussed their schedules, I've
Speaker 1: noticed that these breaks often start unintentionally. Maybe you are
Speaker 1: working on a report and mean to ask your colleague
Speaker 1: about something you hope to include. You pop over to
Speaker 1: your inbox to send a note. Then in your inbox
Speaker 1: you see a headline about something designed to get your attention.
Speaker 1: You click over to the article and read it, and
Speaker 1: then read something else, or see a sports score and
Speaker 1: have to go check that out, and next thing you know,
Speaker 1: it can be twenty mins, minutes or more before you
Speaker 1: resume work. Now, that twenty minute break was longer than
Speaker 1: my restaurant's formally scheduled smoke breaks, that's what we called them,
Speaker 1: whether you smoked or not, which I didn't. But many
Speaker 1: people taking that headline reading break wouldn't even note it
Speaker 1: has a break. It wasn't particularly rejuvenating or relaxing, and
Speaker 1: since it wasn't scheduled ahead and intentionally taken, many people
Speaker 1: might not even notice it. Then they might claim that
Speaker 1: they don't take breaks. But everyone takes breaks, some are
Speaker 1: intentional and some are not, Some are relaxing and some
Speaker 1: are not. I would argue that since it is impossible
Speaker 1: to spend an entire workday entirely focused on work, we
Speaker 1: are all best off taking breaks intentionally so they can
Speaker 1: be truly rejuvenating and not take more time than we
Speaker 1: intend to give them. So as you think about your
Speaker 1: day to day, aim to take a much better break.
Speaker 1: You might look over your schedule and identify when you'd
Speaker 1: be most likely to do something that is not your
Speaker 1: core job. Lots of people feel unfocused and fatigued in
Speaker 1: mid afternoon, so if you are not sure that's probably
Speaker 1: a good time to aim for, then think about what
Speaker 1: you could do in ten to fifteen minutes that would
Speaker 1: boost your energy levels. Could you go for a quick walk,
Speaker 1: Even if you can't leave your building, you might be
Speaker 1: able to go up and down the stairs. You could
Speaker 1: have a quick cup of tea with a colleague that
Speaker 1: you enjoy. That's a much better way to socialize than
Speaker 1: reading comments on online articles. You could read a book
Speaker 1: or a magazine for a few minutes. If you think
Speaker 1: people will look askance at this intentional break, just go
Speaker 1: somewhere that they can't see you outside or your car,
Speaker 1: or a faraway conference room or something like that. Of course,
Speaker 1: if you work from home, you've got a lot more options.
Speaker 1: You could do any sort of hobby, like practicing a
Speaker 1: musical instrument, gardening, doing some artwork, or maybe a more
Speaker 1: complicated workout. You could take your dog on a real
Speaker 1: walk and get both of you some exercise and fresh air.
Speaker 1: Picture what you would like to do today, and then
Speaker 1: work out the logistics. If you plan to read and
Speaker 1: you work in an office, make sure you bring your book.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to go for a walk, make sure
Speaker 1: you wear or bring shoes that would make that possible.
Speaker 1: If you plan to practice your flute in your home office,
Speaker 1: put your flute and your music in there so you
Speaker 1: don't waste time looking for it when it's time to
Speaker 1: take a break. Then at break time, execute on the play. Now,
Speaker 1: you might need to be a little bit flexible. Maybe
Speaker 1: your break happens a little earlier or maybe a little
Speaker 1: bit later than you planned. Maybe a colleagues meeting runs long,
Speaker 1: so you walk alone rather than with a group. Maybe
Speaker 1: you take two shorter breaks instead of one longer one.
Speaker 1: But I highly doubt that you can't make it work.
Speaker 1: If you work in a job where breaks aren't scheduled,
Speaker 1: but you think you work without ceasing, try observing your
Speaker 1: time sometime and your activities just for a day and
Speaker 1: see if there is any time spent on stuff other
Speaker 1: than the core of your work. My guess is that
Speaker 1: the answer is yes. If so, you will be better
Speaker 1: off choosing those activities and acknowledging your break. You'll feel
Speaker 1: more relaxed and like time is more within your control.
Speaker 1: That little mindset shift can change everything. In the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four then breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1: That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
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