Whether you work from home or in a traditional work setting, you probably track the number of hours you spend at work. But how many of them are actually spent working?
The traditional work culture tends to commend the ‘first to arrive, last to leave’ approach, and boasting about the number of hours you’ve racked up at work each week is commonplace.
But is it really productive? Science suggests not.
There are now countless studies proving the benefits of breaking up your workday with regular breaks, from better focus and increased productivity to avoiding headaches and lowering the risk of stress-related illness.
One recent study from DeskTime, an app which tracks and analyses computer use and productivity, has revealed a very specific set of figures which it suggests may just be the golden formula for productive breaks.
The highest performing users of the DeskTime app are working for 52 minutes before a 17-minute coffee break. Importantly, they tend to spend those 17 minutes away from their desks.
Workers can set an alarm to remind them when to take a break, and another to signal when it’s time to get back to work. And they do so with renewed energy and focus, resulting in higher productivity and improved accuracy.
The golden formula might be different for you, but if you see room for improvement in your work day, you could always trial this theory and work from there. One thing is for sure, we all tend to fall into the trap of ‘soldiering on’ until a project is finished or the day comes to an end. But we’re probably not doing ourselves, or our employers, colleagues and clients, any favours.
So don’t be afraid to step away from the computer for that cup of coffee, or trial one of our suggestions for how to procrastinate productively. You’ll actually get more done and feel better.
