You are deeply engrossed in your task at work or home. You push your own limits to keep doing what you are committed to (work responsibility), or what you love to do (personal hobby). You are with your head to the grindstone, and nothing is going to detract you. Until you realize the sun has set on the horizon, your hunger pangs are now loud gurgling growls, your vision is hazy and blurred, and you are totally spent with sheer exhaustion.
Being in a state of flow is highly desirable; being dedicated to your cause is deeply admirable; rising to the demand of the situation is exceptionally worthy. Being frazzled with extreme fatigue at the end of the day is simply short-sighted. You had your eye on your goal all along, without keeping a finger on your pulse. That is a set-up for eventual failure and burn-out. A marathon runner has her sights set on the 26.2-mile marker. She knows that to cross the finish line she has to stay keenly vigilant of her oxygen intake, muscle endurance, and hydration levels.
Overachievers and hard-working individuals are resistant to taking breaks because of the misconception that if they keep going, they will complete the project with 100% satisfaction and accuracy. They think they are delivering their best as they are toiling uninterrupted, for hours. Therein lies the fallacy. What people fail to realize is that, in fact, slow and steady cognitive decline is creeping in over time, unbeknownst to them. Their performance is deteriorating, not maintaining efficiency and quality.
Like any high-performance system, car battery, computer, racehorse, or human brain, we need to disconnect to recharge, reset and recalibrate. This restores the power needed for peak performance. Glucose, the main fuel for the body and brain is depleted during sustained cognitive activity. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is released during prolonged periods of stress leading to elevated vital signs. To restore balance in the body and brain, it is critical to take a break, refuel energy and calm the sympathetic nervous system.
Restorative breaks are as essential as skill, ability, drive and focus needed for outstanding work performance. “Breaks enable a special pattern of brain activity known as the default mode network, which leads to introspection, creative ideation, and information integration.” Harvard Business Review’s Big Idea Series ‘The Power of Time off’ (Feb 4, 2025), claims strategic breaks at work can be cultivated by creating restorative-healthy cultures.
Daniel Pink in When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing (2018), offers
5 guiding principles:
- Microbreaks can be powerful to revive productivity. If you stick to a task too long, you slip into habituation, decrease in response, lose sight of the goal, and productivity drops.
- Microbursts of activity such as 10 min walks during breaks increase creativity, motivation, and concentration.
- Collective breaks with others foster conversations and interactions to boost your mood.
- Outside breaks being exposed to nature calm your nerves, reduce stress and anxiety, and enhance focus.
- Tech-free breaks increase vigor and reduce emotional exhaustion. Switching focus from work to social media or swapping one device for another is counterproductive. Both physical and psychological detachment are necessary to be truly effective.
Some of my clients have taken to doing pushups by the office desk, doing stretches on a yoga mat, walking with a colleague around the office building, walking their dog, or riding their bike.
Instead of feeling guilty for taking time off when you are pressed for time, you will find you are able to return with renewed vigor and focus and complete the work with ease, clarity, efficiency, creativity and speed.
Go ahead, give yourself permission to step out of the work zone for 5 – 10 mins and breathe deeply. Feel your energy seep in and rise within you. You are priming yourself for your peak performance to soar.