Brain Breaks
Rarely do our workdays present us with a linear pathway of working on one thing from start to finish. Instead, we are faced with a long list of varied activities and deliverables, too much to do for the time available, not to mention the interruptions and disruptions coming from many sources.
This has become the way of the modern world of work, where we are expected to (and believe we can) multitask our way through to a completed to-do list. Unfortunately, it’s not aligned with how our brains function.
Each time we stop working on a report to attend a meeting, or respond to a message in the middle of a call, or have 3 screens of different work outputs open at once, we are placing an extra load on our brain’s functioning. The cost of switching tasks - even those unnoticeable micro ones - is huge. An abundance of research shows us that our brains function less efficiently and effectively, our clarity and speed of thought is reduced, and paradoxically, the more we do this the less we achieve. Whilst we might feel productive as we juggle all the balls, it isn’t sustainable nor ideal.
Nor is it as simple as suggesting we stop trying to multitask or spend our days switching from one thing to another.
Yes, we must work on shifting our workplace practices and culture to support things like uninterrupted, deep work times, and we can implement strategies to reduce the cognitive load of task switching.
Akin to a palate cleanser that we might have between courses in a long meal, building in brain breaks during our work day can provide the bridge between one task to the next.
We might find ourselves doing this as a matter of course, taking a stretch after a long meeting, going for a quick walk around the block, chatting to a colleague, or doing the daily Wordle before we start on the next project. Often times, when we stop and do something “non-work related” it comes with a healthy dose of guilt. After all, the pressure of that list never abates.
The irony though is that by taking that minute or two, we will be more focused, energised and productive than if we didn’t.
Brain breaks are a necessity in our working days.
I’m curious, how do you avoid the brain drain in your work day and do you embrace the idea of a mini reset between tasks?