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Heavy job on? Getting bogged down? Take a breather!
Nicki jumped up in the office the other day and randomly declared, “Right, everyone outside for a bit of fun!” Naturally, we all downed our tools/mice/laptops and followed her onto the balcony for a breather. It turned out to be a ‘wall’ exercise, where you squat with your back flat against a wall for as long as you are able (we managed just over a minute at best).
The whole thing lasted about 8 minutes I guess, then we filed back in laughing, aching, and sat back at our desks to resume our work. What did we achieve? Well, for me any screen break is welcome, being a contact lens wearer, my eyes can start to go crossed after too much detailed design work on my PC. Also, a bit of competitive fun always gives me inspiration… purely because of my competing nature! For others, it was the fresh air that rejuvenated and refreshed them, and it gave us all a chance to get outside and enjoy the beautiful hot sunshine we’ve been treated to lately.
According to government figures, https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work, workers are entitled to 20 minutes uninterrupted break during their day, if they work more than 6 hours, though not necessarily paid. Is it about the money though? Certainly, if I stay sitting in the same position for too long I feel the urge to at least get up and move around for a bit! But some people seem to get so focused on what they are working on that this becomes either unnecessary, needless, or just plain forgotten about! For others, a 10-minute trawl through Facebook or Twitter is enough to give a welcome distraction from the facts/figures/data/ or general busy-ness of their working day… no need to move from their desk.
How about you? What do you find is your best ‘distraction’ from a heavy job or project at work? Do you or your boss allow you a break to refresh and rejuvenate?
On researching this topic, I came across some fab ideas for things to do when you need a break from your work. Here’s just a few:
- desk stretches and exercises, or how about an office chair race?
- organise coffee for the whole team
- 10-minute nap in your car (no way I could ever do this one!)
- find and watch a Ted Talk to inspire you
- try some brain-training with this: https://www.lumosity.com/
- keep a non-work-related book handy to read
- make a new friend or connection on Linkedin, or catch up on activities of connections already there
- have an office tidy-up (or even just a desk tidy-up)
- do nothing for two minutes. Honestly, try it with this fabulous link: http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
- call your spouse/child/parent just to see how they are
- make an office sculpture (see picture below for a suggestion)
Any other ideas? Please get in touch and let us know what you’d recommend. Now, back to work!
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