Three breaks to take today

Cari Nazeer
Forge
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2 min readSep 24, 2020

Today’s tip: Every day, take a social break, a physical break, and a spiritual break.

“Ever wonder why it takes twice as long to write a report at 2:30 p.m. as it does at 10:30 a.m.?” Laura Vanderkam recently asked. “You haven’t gotten dumber — it’s just that your energy levels change during the workday.”

So when they dip, take a break. In fact, take three. Vanderkam cites a study that found that daily happiness tends to peak around three types of activities: physical, social, and spiritual. A physical break might mean walking the dog or going for a run. Social might mean FaceTiming over a cup of coffee. And spiritual can be anything affecting the human spirit, like praying, meditating, listening to uplifting music, or looking at something beautiful.

These breaks can also be short. Real short. Vanderkam notes: “One study tested break lengths of one, five, and nine minutes, and all these break conditions made people feel better.” Just make the most of whatever time you have by choosing your breaks with purpose.

📚 More from Forge on new ways to schedule your day:

The New Way to Know When You’re Done With Work
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How to Use Your Calendar to Make Every Day Your Ideal Day
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7 Ways to Do a Work Week
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Published in Forge

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Cari Nazeer
Cari Nazeer

Written by Cari Nazeer

Former lead editor, Forge @ Medium