{"id":45224,"date":"2016-11-02T20:58:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T04:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=45224"},"modified":"2017-05-27T08:47:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T16:47:38","slug":"50-ways-to-relax-and-be-more-productive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/50-ways-to-relax-and-be-more-productive\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Ways To Relax And Be More Productive"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Breaks are for losers, right?<\/p>\n

Wrong. Breaks are part of our mental and physical programming, and to ignore our instinct to grab a breather is to open the door to stress and reduced productivity.<\/p>\n

Naturally, when you have things to get done and deadlines to hit, the old adage \u2018time is money\u2019 tends to pop up like an angry neon sign every time you feel the urge to rest. But that adage might better be said, \u2018quality time is money\u2019.<\/p>\n

Eating lunch at your desk, neglecting to relax properly when you\u2019re not at work, never taking a vacation \u2013 these should not be habits that you associate with success. Stress costs American business hundreds of billions of dollars each year \u2013 a Harvard study<\/a> chalked $63.2bn up to sleep deprivation alone.<\/p>\n

A key problem is that the same \u2018positive\u2019 stress that we\u2019ve relied on to power us through some tight moments does not help us out when the situation is scaled up. The extra concentration you muster when a deadline approaches or you\u2019re put on the spot becomes dissipated when spread over a longer time: instead of working on the job at hand, your brainpower is taken up with trying to deal with the effects of stress.<\/p>\n

Listen to your body, which is programmed to shift from a state of alertness to one of fatigue every ninety minutes or so, and you will work more \u2013 and work better \u2013 in these shorter blocks of time. It\u2019s easier said than done for those of us who are truly driven to succeed, and have built up a glut of bad habits over the years. Overhauling your work ethic is a job best done piecemeal: evolving a little each day and noticing the improvement as you go.<\/p>\n

Take Regular Breaks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Find yourself an app such as Pomodoro<\/a>, which you can adjust to the work pattern that is best for you, for example setting a recurring ten-minute break every ninety minutes. Setting bite-size chunks of work to achieve, instead of surveying the ocean of work you need to get done in a day, can help you get stuck in for a proper session. Rewarding yourself before and after each block of work is also scientifically proven to improve your output.<\/p>\n

Exercise Throughout The Working Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

And what to do on those regular breaks? Move! Exercise \u2013 be it stretches, push-ups or a walk \u2013 is a great way to release endorphins and keep your morale up (not to mention the cumulative physical effect of scheduling regular mini-workouts each day).<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have the space or the privacy for push-ups, try de-tensing your body where you sit. Relax your face, your shoulders, let your legs fall apart, stretch your toes, and breathe slowly. Do it for three minutes. Really, no time has passed, but you\u2019re ready to launch back into what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Make Better Use Of Your Lunch Break<\/strong><\/p>\n

On your lunch break, get out of the office to stretch your legs, take in some fresh air and be inspired by whatever you see \u2013 be it an exhibition, a new caf\u00e9, or simply the trees and the clouds.<\/p>\n

You might even take a short nap to reboot your brain, or save that particular treat for your mid-afternoon break. A 20-30 minute nap can boost your alertness without leaving you feeling groggy \u2013 again, it\u2019s working with your body\u2019s natural rhythms.<\/p>\n

Follow The 20-20-20 Rule<\/strong><\/p>\n

But be sure to take regular, disciplined mini-breaks, too.<\/p>\n

Five minutes to walk to the water cooler, stretch at your desk, or just give your eyes a break (when using a computer, we\u2019re recommended to take a twenty second break to focus on something twenty feet away every twenty minutes \u2013 remember it as the 20-20-20 rule<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Stop Postponing That Vacation<\/strong><\/p>\n

If these techniques can start to make your daily workload a bit more manageable, don\u2019t neglect to take a vacation to prevent burnout, too. Believe it or not, every ten hours of vacation taken each year has been shown to increase performance ratings by 8{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} – so the 12{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} of us who report feeling guilty for not working on vacation can knock that guilt on the head right now.<\/p>\n

Taking quality breaks is just the start of adjusting your body and mind to a more productive way of being.<\/p>\n

50 Relaxation Techniques You Can Try Today<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more? Have a look at\u00a0this infographic<\/a>, which gathers some of the best mini-relaxations and daily techniques\u00a0for improving the working day and getting a work\/life balance that can enable you to get the best of both worlds \u2013 feeling better in yourself while taking your productivity to new levels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eating lunch at your desk, neglecting to relax when you\u2019re not at work, never taking a vacation \u2013 these should not be habits to be associated with success. 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