Making the most productive use of your time throughout the day is as much about what you do while you’re working as it is about how to use your free time. You can spend your breaks sliding further into bad habits and lethargy or refresh and re-energize your mind and body. With that said, below are x ways to get the most out of your work breaks and maximize your productivity.
Play Brain Games
By far, one of the best ways to maximize your work breaks and return to your desk or workspace ready to reengage is to stimulate your brain while doing something fun during your downtime. There are many ways to do this, including games like Scrabble, which work out your verbal intelligence, provide an element of fun competitiveness and can be easily played from your desktop, phone or tablet. If you are new to Scrabble and are struggling to come up with winning letter combinations, tools like Unscramblex help you combine your tiles into all of the different word permutations available.
Hydrate
Over half of people don’t drink enough water every day and likely fail to appreciate the role hydration plays in brain function and particularly mental alertness. With that in mind, using part of your breaks from work to top up your water bottle or glass is a good way to make sure that when you buckle down again, your brain and body has enough of their most essential fluid to work optimally. Your ability to concentrate and focus, which are proxies for productivity, is influenced by how hydrated or dehydrated you are.
Walk
If weather and location permit, taking a walk during your work breaks is always a good idea. Walks are good for us mentally and physically, especially if our work requires us to be sedentary for extended periods. Sitting for a long time is hard on our minds and internal organs, and standing up to stretch your legs and get your blood flowing can refresh you for another round of productivity. Even fifteen minutes is enough to change your frame of mind.
Socialize
If you are able to socialize with friends, family or coworkers during your break–whether that’s a quick chat over coffee or an extended lunch break–you will have done a lot for your mood and productivity once you return to work. Positive social stimulation is an important part of feeling good about ourselves and what we are doing, which in turn motivates us to want to perform and do well.
Conclusion
Whether your work breaks are scheduled or left to your discretion, most people could probably stand to make better use of their downtime throughout the day. Whether that means doing something fun and stimulating like playing a brain game, making sure you have the hydration you need to remain productive, taking a walk or spending some quality time with people you like (or all of the above), the day can seem far less arduous when you use your breaks to make work more effortless.
