The Most Productive Thing You Can Do Today? Stop.
Work less, think better.
Your brain wasn’t built for back-to-back Zoom calls and ten hour workdays. In a culture obsessed with doing more, it’s easy to forget that rest is productive too. We’ve inherited an “always on” ethos that honors productivity while treating rest as an afterthought, but science tells a different story.
The Science of the Pause
In one study conducted by Microsoft Labs, researchers measured brain activity of people in back-to-back meetings and compared it to people who took brief breaks. The difference was stark. Brain scans found that even short, 10-minute breaks dramatically lowered stress and improved focus. Those who took breaks made fewer mistakes and were able to stay engaged. Researchers concluded that brain breaks didn’t undermine productivity, these breaks unlocked it.
“Our research shows breaks are important, not just to make us less exhausted by the end of the day, but to actually improve our ability to focus and engage while in those meetings,” said the researchers.
Rest Is When Your Brain Gets Smarter
In another study, researchers examined brains during rest and during learning. Surprisingly, brain changes were found more during rest. New learning and problem-solving didn’t happen when “thinking harder,” but when participants stepped away.
“Everyone thinks you need to ‘practice, practice, practice.’ Instead, we found resting, early and often, may be just as critical to learning as practice,” said the lead neuroscientist.
This process is called neural consolidation. It’s how your brain incorporates new information floating around and cements it into new knowledge. If you’ve ever been stumped by a problem only to have it revealed while doing dishes or showering, you’ve experienced this phenomenon. It isn’t random, it’s your biology at work. The breakthrough behind the break.
What Actually Works: A 3–5 Minute Brain Reset
While skimming email, scrolling social media or perusing news headlines is what we all do, your brain doesn’t register this as a break. This type of downtime actually keeps your brain in a low-level state of vigilance and you’re not getting the mental reset your system needs. Real rest is intentional.
Try this instead:
Take a 5-minute walk (even if it’s just around your office or home)
Stand up and stretch with a few deep belly breaths
Look out a window to give your eyes something to focus on besides a screen
Climb a flight of stairs and let your legs move
Set your phone down and be present in your body
Find natural transition points in your day to incorporate a brain break. The start or end of a meeting, switching between tasks or finishing a report are all ripe for a moment of pause. Schedule your brain breaks. Add them to your calendar like meetings (because they’re meetings with yourself). Taking real, intentional brain breaks is a radical act in a world that rewards burnout and output. Pause with purpose, instead.
This week’s stress reset: Choose one thing you can do everyday as a brain break. Not because you’ve earned it, but because your brain needs it. And forward this to someone who works through lunch every day to encourage them to take a brain break too.
Until next week,