In the United States, we are in the height of the summer season, a time that school children and their families associate with vacation or at least a break from the normal schedules of the school year. I heard my first “back-to-school” commercial on the radio and caught myself thinking, “Don’t rush them… let them savor what is left of this important break!” If I am being honest, this thought began with me doing a poor impersonation of Taylor Dayne performing “Don’t Rush Me” while I was driving down the road.
Lately, I’ve been pondering the relationship between breaks, productivity, and burnout. I attended an HR Leaders LinkedIn Live event last week that discussed Portugal’s adoption of a 4-day workweek. This made me wonder if compressing 40 hours of work into 4 days negatively impacts employee productivity and leads to burnout. Have you ever experienced this? Cramming more than 40 hours into Monday – Thursday to start your weekend on Friday might seem enticing, but does it affect the quality of work and your overall well-being?
I find it perplexing that we build efficiencies to create free time, but we often fill that time with additional tasks. Taking breaks has been shown to increase productivity and protect against burnout, yet many of us ignore the signals our bodies send us when we need a break. We fall for the false belief that pushing on without breaks will prevent future pain or difficulties.
Do any of these statements sound familiar? “I’m on a roll, and if I quit now, I will lose momentum.” “It will only take a few more minutes, and then I won’t have to deal with it anymore.” “If I don’t do it now, I’ll have to work longer later.” “It will be hard to get back on track if I stop here.”
Do you have some similar go-to thoughts when your body is telling you a break is in order?
Instead of pushing ourselves beyond our limits, what if we treated that inner voice as a commercial and changed the channel to one that encourages us to take a break and savor the moment? What would that sound and feel like?
This experiment involves recognizing the signals our bodies give us when they need a break. For me, it typically comes in the form of a headache or an ache in my lower back. It could include such things as tightness in the jaw, the urge to stretch, shortness of breath, inability to focus, hunger, thirst, and more. What cues does your body send you?
The next time your body sends you that signal, I invite you to take a break and look for evidence to debunk those negative messages you normally use to push through. Did you really lose momentum when you took a break? Did it make you work longer later? Did you really not have to deal with that task again?
If you struggle to carve out restorative breaks during your day, I would love to help. You can schedule a no-cost 15-minute call through the contact form to explore how my services might suit your needs.
