Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 2: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 2: tip is to take a better break today. Everyone takes
Speaker 2: breaks during the workday, whether they think they do or not.
Speaker 2: So if you are going to take a break at
Speaker 2: some point today, why not make it as rejuvenating and
Speaker 2: wonderful as possible. In some lines of work, breaks are
Speaker 2: formally built in. When I worked in a fast food
Speaker 2: restaurant many years ago, an eight hour shift was scheduled
Speaker 2: over nine hours because the working hours came with two
Speaker 2: fifteen minute breaks and one thirty minute break.
Speaker 1: My coworkers and I all took our fifteen minute breaks
Speaker 1: at set staggered times to make sure enough people were
Speaker 1: manning the kitchen and the registers. I imagine many people
Speaker 1: listening to this podcast work in slightly different ways. Breaks
Speaker 1: aren't so formally structured in your line of work. You
Speaker 1: work for a while, and then you do something different
Speaker 1: that isn't necessarily the core of your job until you
Speaker 1: resume work again. When I have observed people and discussed
Speaker 1: their schedules, I've noticed that these breaks often start unintentionally.
Speaker 1: Maybe you are working on a report and mean to
Speaker 1: ask your colleague about something you hope to include. You
Speaker 1: pop over to your inbox to send a note. Then
Speaker 1: in your inbox you see a headline about something designed
Speaker 1: to get your attention. You click over to the article
Speaker 1: and read it, and then read something else, or see
Speaker 1: a sports score and have to go check that out,
Speaker 1: and next thing you know, it can be twenty mins,
Speaker 1: minutes or more before you resume work. Now, that twenty
Speaker 1: minute break was longer than my restaurant's formally scheduled smoke breaks,
Speaker 1: that's what we called them, whether you smoked or not,
Speaker 1: which I didn't. But many people taking that headline reading
Speaker 1: break wouldn't even note it has a break. It wasn't
Speaker 1: particularly rejuvenating or relaxing, and since it wasn't scheduled ahead
Speaker 1: and intentionally taken, many people might not even notice it.
Speaker 1: Then they might claim that they don't take breaks. But
Speaker 1: everyone takes breaks, some are intentional and some are not,
Speaker 1: Some are relaxing and some are not. I would argue
Speaker 1: that since it is impossible to spend an entire work
Speaker 1: day entirely focused on work, we are all best off
Speaker 1: taking breaks intentionally so they can be truly rejuvenating and
Speaker 1: not take more time than we intend to give them.
Speaker 1: So as you think about your day to day, aim
Speaker 1: to take a much better break. You might look over
Speaker 1: your schedule and identify when you'd be most likely to
Speaker 1: do something that is not your core job. Lots of
Speaker 1: people feel unfocused and fatigued in mid afternoon, so if
Speaker 1: you are not sure that's probably a good time to
Speaker 1: aim for, then think about what you could do in
Speaker 1: ten to fifteen minutes that would boost your energy levels.
Speaker 1: Could you go for a quick walk, Even if you
Speaker 1: can't leave your building, you might be able to go
Speaker 1: up and down the stairs. You could have a quick
Speaker 1: cup of tea with a colleague that you enjoy. That's
Speaker 1: a much better way to socialize than reading comments on
Speaker 1: online articles. You could read a book or a magazine
Speaker 1: for a few minutes. If you think people will look
Speaker 1: askance at this intentional break, just go somewhere that they
Speaker 1: can't see you outside or your car, or a faraway
Speaker 1: conference room or something like that. Of course, if you
Speaker 1: work from home, you've got a lot more options. You
Speaker 1: could do any sort of hobby, like practicing a musical instrument, gardening,
Speaker 1: doing some artwork, or maybe a more complicated workout. You
Speaker 1: could take your dog on a real walk and get
Speaker 1: both of you some exercise and fresh air. Picture what
Speaker 1: you would like to do today, and then work out
Speaker 1: the logistics. If you plan to read and you work
Speaker 1: in an office, make sure you bring your book. If
Speaker 1: you'd like to go for a walk, make sure you
Speaker 1: wear or bring shoes that would make that possible. If
Speaker 1: 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 along,
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 the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That
Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: 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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