Mind Management-Best Breaks - Steve Vogel Learning Strategist

“Breaks?” “Rewards?” Who has time for that kind of thing this close to the end of term!

Well, I hope that you do. Breaks and rewards by themselves of course don’t get the work done–that would be silly!

But planned, intelligent use of breaks and rewards, even over the short term, increases your effectiveness. Breaks and rewards are two tools you can put in place immediately, regardless of where you are in your end-of-term program. You have a better chance of getting better work done more efficiently if you make wise use of breaks and rewards.

What is the difference between breaks and rewards? They both take you away from time on task, but you take breaks regardless of whether you have achieved what you set out to do, regardless of whether you feel you “deserve” a break. Rewards are reinforcement for making or sustaining effort.

Today I’m focusing on breaks. Not convinced about breaks? Think of how often you are playing solitaire, get up for some interruption, and when you come back to the game, see the black Ten waiting to go on the red Jack that you’ve missed until now. Or the puzzle piece, or machine part, or math insight, or chord resolution that now becomes obvious . . .

Gaining the benefit of these break mediated insight boosters can be enhanced by planning for them ahead of time. You need to plan for (a) when, (b) how long, and (d) what to do.

When to take a break:

The scheduled break: You know your own period of productivity. Modify the Pomodoro technique to fit what works for you. That’s x minutes work, y minutes break, x minutes work, y minutes break. Yes, x is greater than y. A timer is useful.

The interruption break: This can be an interruption that you look on as a break, not as a derailment. Interruptions are going to happen–kids, phone calls, puppies. If they routinely take large amounts of time, have a management meeting with yourself and whoever else is on your life team to bring them under control. But expect a little life to happen. Prepare for the odd unexpected interruptions, pat yourself on the back for dealing with them as they come up, and refocus.

The frustration break: Maybe you’re losing focus before your x minutes are up. Maybe you just don’t get the problem, or what the author is trying to say. Or maybe your mind keeps going on to other areas in your life. Sit back. Take an unplanned break. Get away from your desk. Before you come back to task, decide whether your best approach is to resume the work, or to try a different approach.

The sanity break: This is recognizing that going day after day for long periods of time is not good for you or your studies. For some sanity break is date night, for some it’s spiritual community gathering, for some it’s family dinner, or a drive in the mountains.

How long to break:

The Pomodoro breaks are short, usually only 5 to 15 minutes. Start with 10 minutes, and see how that works.

The interruption break is the one that you have little control over. The key to keep from being derailed is, at the outset of the interruption, to visualize exactly what you will do on your interrupted task once the interruption is looked after.

The frustration break usually takes 20 minutes to an hour or two–have a number of these preplanned. These are the breaks that are long enough and different enough to clear your mind for a fresh approach.

! is usually three hours to a full day, scheduled once a week.

What to do:

Pomodoro breaks: I’ve briefly mentioned earlier what you can do in the short Pomodoro breaks, where you’re breaking up large chunks of task focus into shorter, more effective stints. Stretch. Snack. Move around. Listen to or make music.

Interruption breaks: Here of course you look after the interruption. The key is to focus on dealing with the interruption rather than on your irritation at being interrupted. Smile when you’ve dealt with it, and commend yourself as you get back to task.

Frustration breaks: Have a list of these planned ahead of time: the twenty minute walk, the early lunch, the next level of gaming, the errand, the call home, the extra walk with the dog. For some people, getting a lead on a chore is sufficient to clear the mind, for other people, going from frustration to chores does not clear the mind. Make it work for you.

The sanity break: This needs to be as far away as you can be from your stressor tasks. Just going for a drive, or a long walk by the seashore, or in the park. Maybe it is an afternoon of binge watching, or binge reading. Maybe it’s date night, or a special weekly family dinner. Or maybe it’s an afternoon in the kitchen, baking bread. Or an afternoon at the club. Or a half-day work with seniors, or as a Big Brother/Sister. It doesn’t have to break the bank, just something that you look forward to. It needs to be something that refreshes you, that fills up the battery that obligations and stress have been draining all week.

Making it work:

The three keys to making it work are preplanning, creativity, and scheduling. Scheduling works with weekly sanity breaks, of course, as well as in allowing extra time in your study schedule for short Pomodoro breaks. Interruption breaks and frustration breaks happen when they happen; your scheduling needs to be flexible enough and adaptable enough to deal with the unexpected. It’s one of the reasons that you review your planner each day, and each week.

The fun key is preplanning what you’re going to do in your different breaks. Here’s where creativity comes to play. Sit down when you have read this, and sketch out the short activities you enjoy, then the activities that you find help with frustration, and finally the activities that you really enjoy in longer breaks. Jot down the approximate time each break activity takes, so that you can make a quick choice of break activity as the need arises, depending on how your day is going.

Prop this list up where you can see it. Try the Pareto quick breaks tomorrow, and choose a frustration break when you find yourself running into a wall. Schedule your next sanity break, and start looking forward.

Let me know what works for you. And if you’re stuck for ideas, or the interruptions are a significant challenge, get in touch! [email protected]