April 7, 2021
1 Thought
Research done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that in an eight-hour day, the average worker is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes.
In the study, the top five unproductive behaviors noted were:
Reading news websites: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Checking social media: 44 minutes
Discussing non-work-related things with co-workers: 40 minutes
Searching for new jobs: 26 minutes
Taking smoke breaks: 23 minutes
Most people don't engage in the above behaviors because they're lazy or undisciplined, though that can be the case. Most people engage in the above behaviors simply because they need a break. Typically, when we think of taking a break, we define it as the simple absence of work, but what if it were more than that?
The counterintuitive discovery is that many of the most restorative kinds of breaks are active. Things like exercise or serious, engaging hobbies do more for you than sitting there scrolling through social media. This is why taking a walk during the middle of the day will be far more beneficial to the quality of your work as well as increasing the quantity of focused hours you can give to stewarding your work well.
Here are three things to consider when taking a daily walk:
Listen to your body: If you find yourself stretching a lot or starting to lose focus, or perhaps just feeling like you need a change of scenery–it may be time for a walk.
Go at a comfortable pace: Sometimes we need a slow, leisurely walk. Sometimes we have too much restless energy and need to go at a quicker pace. Whatever is comfortable for you that day according to your workload and stress levels, do that.
Take enough time: 20 minutes is recommended and 30 minutes if you can manage it. A good, regular time for this could be taking a part of your lunch break.
1 Resource
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang on the importance of taking rest seriously:
“If your work is your self, when you cease to work, you cease to exist...If you want rest, you have to take it. You have to resist the lure of busyness, make time for rest, take it seriously, and protect it from a world that is intent on stealing it."
Source: Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
1 Question
What would you gain from a midday energy refreshment?