Why You Should Take Breaks

Why You Should Take Breaks

This is something that's not often done, especially when kids are going to school by Zoom and adults are working by Zoom, this is a serious problem.

People are getting eye fatigue, they're getting headaches. Indeed, some people are getting migraines, they're having all sorts of issues, neck pain. Much of that, if not all of that, in some cases can be alleviated by this 45 to 5 rule.

Your eyes use a lot of energy when they look at something narrow like a phone, laptop, tablet, etc. That's not bad. But, after a while, they fatigue and your productivity and mood plummet.

Recall any day/time you felt tired after working hard. You were probably indoors and staring at your computer. That feeling sucks. So if you're putting in a lot of hours recently, this tool is a life-saver.

For every 45 minutes of work, get 5 minutes of rest for your eyes. This should be outdoors or looking outside. Outdoors/wide visual windows have an immediate effect at making you and your eyes feel calm.

You can do any activity you like: walk, think, listen to music, chat. But don't check your phone. It keeps you in that small visual window and makes things worse.

Just to be clear. Converging your eyes to a narrow window helps you focus. You still need to do it. But include times to rest the system in between. This rest helps you focus longer, be more productive, and feel good/healthy.

Summary: take 5-minute breaks for your eyes every 45 minutes. Ideally, outside or looking outside.

p.s. no need to be strict about 45 minutes. If you like structure, use it. If not, just use this when you feel the need to.

For more workspace protocols, check out the Workspace episode or this article (written by Andrew).