No Limits: The Art and Science of High Performance

by Mukesh Bansal

Performance Hack #19: Take Ten Even on days when you feel like you just can’t afford to take a break because of how much you have to do, it’s still important to take one. In fact, it’s important to schedule breaks into your workday. One way of doing this is to set a timer for one hour and settle down to work. During this hour, don’t allow any distractions to hijack your attention, and stay focused on the task at hand. When the hour is up, set the timer again for ten minutes and give yourself a break. Ideally when you’re on your break, take a quick walk around your office or step onto the balcony for fresh air. But if you’ve been itching to check your email and social media notifications then do that, so you aren’t distracted by them once your next hour of work begins. You will find that working with ten-minute breaks every hour makes you more productive than if you work for several hours without a single break in-between.