While it's easy to imagine our study and work time not always being productive, getting break time right should be easy shouldn't it? All you do is take some time away from your work every now and again, so you keep your mind fresh. What could be easier than that?

In reality though, we are generally as bad at taking breaks as we are at slacking off. We seem to be either at one extreme or the other. On one extreme some people take a break all day long and don't get any work done at all. On the other extreme some people work far too hard and burn out. Most people lie a little away from the far extremities, but few people have the balance right.

The problem often comes down to what we choose to do during our break time. Some break time activities just don't allow us to switch to them easily enough. Other break time activities, while enjoyable, are not really giving our brains the rest they need.

Timing Your Break Times

When do you take breaks and for how long? The answer should ideally change depending on a number of factors as wide as from what you are studying to what you eat. A frequently expressed guideline is to study for 20 to 40 minutes and then take a break for 10 minutes. This is a good place to start, but eventually you need to get used to following your emotions and distinguish between when you really need a break and when you just want one.

This calls for a bit of flexibility, so you need to make sure what you do during your breaks supports that flexibility. Try asking yourself the following questions:

• Are you able to easily transition from your break time activity to your work, and back again?
• Is your break time activity addictive? How easily can you stop doing that activity when you have had enough break time?

The following are activities I find particularly bad for my breaks.

• Watch television - You will want to see how a programme ends so will keep watching until it does. If you then get interested in the next programme you will be hooked for at least another half hour. The TV companies arrange their programming to facilitate this addiction.
• Games (computer or otherwise) - You will want to get to the next level, or just get passed a certain bit of the game. And when you do, you will want to quickly see what comes next. Again games are made to be addictive.
• Surfing the Internet / checking email - The Internet is probably the best man made representation of the brain there is. We surf from site to site in a similar way to how we move from thought to thought. For this reason, it is again, highly addictive.
• Reading (especially fiction) - You will want to get to the end of a chapter, or finish an article. We don't like stopping half way through something enjoyable, so will continue.
• Chatting to friends - If you are in the middle of a conversation it can not only be difficult for you to be disciplined enough to break the conversation, it can also be rude. Your friends are not there to entertain you in your breaks, unless both your breaks coincide and you are equally disciplined at getting back to work.

This list may not affect you in the same way, so draw up your own list. Be honest though. If you do not find TV addictive, by all means watch it for ten minutes during your break. If on the other hand you struggle to tear yourself away, face the truth and think of something else to do during your break time.

A Refreshing Break Time

An even more important consideration is how refreshing your break time activity will be. I find I easily get into the habit of surfing the Internet during my breaks from writing, rather than getting off of the computer and doing something completely different. When I do this, I'm kidding myself if I think it is a good break. Really I'm just using the excuse of needing regular breaks to do something I would prefer to do. At the end I am far from refreshed; I'm actually a little more tired.

In order to have an effective break it needs to be a complete change of activity. You don't need to switch off your brain, but you do need to rest the part your have been working hard. So rather than just doing what you feel like doing, you need to do something that will engage a different part of your brain to what your work engages.

The good thing about this is you can make your breaks really productive. You can use your breaks in creative ways, or even to learn something new. Just as long as what you are doing is an honest break from your primary activity.

You may like to think of this as using different senses. If you've been writing, for example, you've been using your verbal sense so your break should give you a break from that (so no reading, for example). Or if you've been learning an instrument, you wouldn't take a break by listening to music or even doing something involving your hands such as playing a video game.

However, reading the newspaper may be a good break if you have been practicing the piano all day. And practicing the piano may be a good break if you are taking a break from reading. The two activities use different parts of the brain and so provide a good rest from each other.

My Favourite Break Time Activities

Every one of us will have different things we like to do in our break time. Below I have identified three activities that I find particularly effective for short breaks of around 10 to 30 minutes.

These activities can also be addictive, but less so because there really is no excuse to keep doing them other than your lack of discipline. In contrast, if you watch television for example, you will want to see how a programme ends so will keep watching. I find that I can stop the following activities reasonably easy half way through and even come back to them later, they are highly productive as I am generally learning, and they are refreshing because they utilise different parts of my brain to my work activity.

1. Drawing (Visual Sense) - This is probably the least effective of the three because I'm still working on paper and close up. There is no break for my physical body, or for my eyes. However, the activity is very quiet and can be done anywhere and requires little equipment. If I'm in a library, for example, I can't start juggling or playing my guitar so drawing is perfect.
2. Playing an instrument (Auditory Sense) - This provides a break for your eyes and is very relaxing. It also encourages you to get away from the desk slightly, and move into another position, although it is often still a sitting position.
3. Juggling or similar indoor skill (Kinaesthetic sense) - This is my favourite break time activity. It is particularly good because it gives my physical body a break from sitting as well as my eyes and brain.

You may have noted that there is nothing in the list that uses my verbal sense. This is because this is what I am usually taking a break from. However, if I was to spend the day painting or playing my guitar I would probably do something like catch up on email during my break time.

Longer Breaks

As well as taking regular short breaks throughout the day, it's also a good idea to give yourself a longer break halfway through the day.

For this, I find light outdoor physical activities are best. Admittedly I don't do this as often as I should, but getting some fresh air and light exercise really clears the mind. Something productive such as digging in the garden brings lots of satisfaction, but a walk or other light cardiovascular exercise is also great.

One of the benefits of light physical exercise is it allows even more of your brain to relax than your shorter breaks do. You can completely let your mind wander and not worry about such things as concentration.

Another benefit of taking a long break in the middle of the day is that it gives you a bit more flexibility to do some different activities. Whereas you wouldn't have time to exercise and recover in a ten minute break, you would do in a break lasting an hour. Personally I like to eat at my desk so that I don't even have to worry about eating during my break time!

You may think that you don't have time to take an hour off from your work every day. But deciding to forgo it could prove false economy as you find your productivity gradually falls. That hour is easily made up through faster productivity and is usually even surpassed. It seems counter intuitive that taking time off from work or study will help us get our work done earlier, but it does work.