What if taking breaks saved time?

'Letting your mind wander helps you perform better'

JT: Breaks are often associated with wasted time and low productivity. So, should we cut them out of our day? 

CC: We often hear that breaks are just a waste of time. After all, lost time means lost money for your employer. That's a very bad way to think about it. Firstly, without breaks, you will exhaust yourself and risk physical and mental fatigue, stress, musculoskeletal disorders, not to mention burn-out, which will waste even more time and money. But taking a break isn't just necessary for your mental and physical health – letting your mind wander can actually help you perform better. 

It's good for your memory... and creativity 

JT: How so? 

CC: When your mind is wandering (something which is much less negative than it seems!), though you may feel like you're idle, your brain certainly isn't! In reality, it goes on 'autopilot' and is quite active. It takes the time to regenerate itself, both physiologically – as the glial cells around the neurons clean themselves – as well as cognitively. Your brain consolidates the information it has received, sorting it, associating it with other, older thoughts and ideas, and thus integrating everything more effectively. In short, it does a bit of housework.  

Several studies, including one conducted with other researchers  from the 'Talents for Digital Transformation' department at the GEM, have proven that taking breaks is good for your memory. When faced with a long and arduous task, participants who allowed their minds to wander responded better than those who did not allow themselves any breaks, or used them for other productive activities. Breaks are also opportunities for divergent thinking, which can spark our creativity.  

Letting your mind wander also helps you stay balanced. The brain takes advantage of the time to manage your emotions – strong or not, positive or not. But beware – breaks aren't the time to consciously think about how you feel. Just let your brain go where it wants to go, and it will regulate itself. 

Bingo, a reward 

JT: So there are many benefits... 

CC: And there are others! These breaks, which may be little more than a few moments of quiet decompression, are a time when we can recharge our batteries and restore our ability to concentrate. But beyond lightening our mental load and sharpening our emotional intelligence, they can help us be more present for the rest of our day, and thus more efficient. We could even think of napping as another soft skill. I've just finished a task, so I can reward myself with a few minutes of looking out the window, thinking about nothing. By doing just that, I escape the deadlines, the pressure of having to finish everything by the end of the day. I can then return to work with a completely different frame of mind. 

Moreover, other neuroscientists wonder whether daydreaming does not sometimes result from our brain's desire to "self-stimulate". Feeling bored in a meeting? Your brain escapes, breathes, looks for a new perspective to help it get interested. Which is clever.  

JT: If you want to do better at your job, why not take a break? 

CC: As long as it doesn't stop you from doing anything else. Not all breaks are created equal: if you're immediately grabbing your phone, frantically scrolling through an app, distracting yourself, answering emails, or chatting with colleagues by the coffee machine, then your mind isn't wandering. Those activities have their virtues, of course, but not the ones I've just mentioned. Nor is it about procrastination, that is, when you do something else to avoid doing a task for which you lack motivation or energy. Let's repeat: our goal is not to keep our brains occupied, but to clear them, to give them the space they need. 

'Rather than powering through, why not decide when to take a break?' 

JT: We can't really force ourselves to clear our heads. So how can we do it? 

CC: Absolutely, and our dependence on digital tools poses an ever-greater threat to these little moments of cognitive freedom. It's hard to escape temptation when our phone or laptop is within reach. First, we need to put them aside. Secondly, it is important to avoid feeling guilty. Remember how beneficial this is, including for your productivity. And if you aren't convinced, here's a test: simply try to work for a long time, continuously, without stopping. What happens? Sooner or later, your brain itself will shut down. Similarly, when faced with a task that is too complicated or too boring, it has to recharge its attention span and forces you to stop.  

Therefore, instead of powering through it, isn't it better to stay in control of it? To choose a time when you aren't jeopardising your work, when you don't risk nodding off at a critical moment (when your boss asks your opinion in the middle of a meeting, for example)?  

JT: Do you have any advice on how to control these moments of mental wandering? 

CC: Plan them. A bit of self-discipline is necessary, as is skilful time management. For example, force yourself to look out the window for twenty seconds every twenty minutes. Or look up from your computer or notebook and think about those around you. You could also go outside for five minutes. Others may prefer to scribble in a notebook or fill in a colouring page. The important thing is that the gesture should be repetitive and should not require much mental effort. '