E. Daniels: 5 Ways to be Productive during a Work Break

              When we spend most of our day in front of a desk, we are more likely to stay in front of that desk, even during all of our breaks. We will eat something quickly and then head back to the computer because the environment you are it tells you that you have to keep working.

Often we associate an environment with a task, which is why therapists and wellness coaches often recommend it not to mix environments; for example, bringing your laptop into your bedroom will confuse your brain. It will increase insomnia because you have now associated your place of sleep with a place of work.

This is why we struggle with taking the full break during our breaks because we associate the environment that we are in with the work that needs to get done.

However, breaks are our time focus, gain energy and stay motivated to continue for the rest of the day. If we don’t take them, we might get less done because we are overwhelmed with fatigue.

Here are five ways you can stay productive during your work break and make the break about yourself and your wellbeing to succeed and be empowered the rest of the day.

Leave the office for lunch.

If you have an area where you can eat lunch outside or have the time to organize a quick lunch, not in the office, do it. When we eat lunch in the break room, we don’t feel like taking our full break because we associate the work environment with work, righteously, but it means we might end up putting in more work and not getting value from it. Often employees will end up eating their lunch at their desk, meaning

that while they eat, they work, and most lunch breaks are unpaid, so you are putting unpaid work when you could be taking the time to recentre yourself and take charge of the rest of the day. Socialize while having a picnic outside with a few work colleagues; meet a friend for a quick lunch the street or use the time as some alone time to enjoy your food on the grass. Wherever you eat your lunch, make sure it is out of the office.

Go for a short walk.

Lunch breaks can be quite long, and sometimes it doesn’t take us that amount of time to eat, but we want to take the full extent of our lunch break. If it is nice enough outside, we will go for a walk as we come into spring. Getting movement in at a random time during the day wakes up our body and gets our blood flowing, allowing us to be more focused on our work during the rest of the day and not drain ourselves out. Besides, fresh air and getting outside can take us out of the afternoon low because the outdoors’ benefits outweigh those of working through your lunch break.

Bring your journal.

Those short breaks in the day are the times to step away from the computer and do something for yourself. Fifteen minutes might not seem like a long time, but it’s enough time to get some journaling down, to write down lingering thoughts, set goals, intentions and have a daily reflection or gratitude. Fifteen minutes is the perfect amount of time for a journaling exercise, and if you are anything like me, journaling can save you from a lot of triggers and built-up tensions you might feel coming on later in the day.