Why Smart Business Owners Take Breaks (And Why You Should Too)
When you’re busy hustling as an entrepreneur, taking regular breaks can feel like a luxury you can’t afford. It’s easy to get caught up in tasks that require your full attention while telling yourself you’ll never finish if you stop for a break. However, skipping over breaks is detrimental to your mental and physical health.
Pausing for a few minutes or even an hour isn’t laziness. It’s a strategic move that supports your business. Regular breaks refresh the mind and body, leading to enhanced productivity, creativity, and overall wellbeing.
Let’s dive deeper into why stepping away from your workspace is one of the smartest decisions you can make.
Pausing Can Boost Your Productivity
Even though some people adopt the “always on” mentality, thinking it’s ideal, taking breaks can effectively enhance productivity. Working continuously without breaks will decrease your ability to concentrate and your output will suffer.
For example, decision fatigue commonly follows mental exhaustion. If your decision-making abilities are impaired, your business will suffer. On the other hand, when you pause once in a while, your mind will stay sharp, you’ll avoid mental fatigue, and it will be easier to complete tasks.
Breaks Can Give You a New Perspective
Disconnecting from a task briefly can give you a fresh perspective when you return. This is especially helpful when you’ve been trying to solve a complicated problem and are feeling stuck. Taking a break can give you the distance needed to see the problem from a new perspective.
For example, playing a quick videogame on your Nintendo Switch can help you disconnect long enough to see things newly when you return. If you’re an avid gamer, keep your console nearby in a case to serve as a reminder to step away once in a while.
Breaks Support Better Time Management
Task management can be brutal when you have a lot on your plate and don’t have a full team to pick up the slack. If that’s your reality, you’re probably rushing through the process of prioritizing and scheduling tasks. Taking breaks can give you a fresh perspective on how to effectively prioritize, schedule, and manage your tasks and appointments.
Stepping Away Supports Sustained Energy
If you’ve ever noticed your energy levels taking a dive during the workday, it could be the result of working nonstop. Although it seems easier and faster to just push through all day until the end, by the time the afternoon rolls around, you’re going to experience that slump.
Taking regular breaks will preserve your energy levels and keep it fairly even throughout the day.
Regular Breaks Enhance Creativity
Allowing your brain to relax can foster creative thinking and problem solving. Depending on what you do on your break, you can introduce your brain to new ideas and perspectives that fuel innovation.
Breaks Facilitate Subconscious Processing
Many people have found that stepping away from a problem for a period of time is the key to finding a creative solution. If you just keep plugging away, you’ll keep hitting those brick walls that prevent progress. Taking breaks removes the mental barriers of stress that block creative insights.
Albert Einstein was known to use this to his advantage by taking regular naps. He’d sit back in his armchair holding a spoon with a metal plate on the floor. He’d drift off for a moment and when the spoon hit the plate, he’d wake up with a solution in mind.
Breaks Support Your Physical Health
Whether you sit or stand at your desk all day, staying in one position can take a toll on your body. Incorporating breaks into your day can reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries that office workers commonly experience.
Regular movement will keep your muscles from getting stiff and can prevent chronic pain from sitting for hours on end. Walking around supports better blood circulation and gets oxygen flowing through your body.
Where eye health is concerned, staring at your computer screen can cause eye strain and headaches, so it’s important to step away from your screen periodically.
Pausing Your Workday Prevents Burnout
Burnout can be avoided by taking breaks throughout the day and by taking time off work completely. Unfortunately, total exhaustion is common. More than 34% of entrepreneurs experience burnout from working long hours and maintaining a singular focus on their work. Don’t let this happen to you.
Breaks Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder
Stepping away from your work several times a day doesn’t make you lazy – it makes you smart. Whether it’s a five-minute stretch, a walk around the block, or a quick gaming session, taking breaks will reset your mind, boost productivity, and prevent burnout. Sustainable progress comes from working smarter, not harder. So, next time you realize you’ve been grinding away, pause, recharge, and come back refreshed.
