Real story: I'm working on writing a post and the words aren't coming easily. Even though I'm still focused, I talk myself into taking a break. I pull out my Nintendo Switch and start in on a difficult game I've been playing. I lose track of time and an hour later finally get back to writing my post, though I feel stressed and worn down rather than rejuvenated.
We aren't work machines. We need breaks, but some breaks are much better than others. Drawing from the book Concentration by Stefan Van Der Stigchel, here are 6 tips to taking a better break.
Tech breaks can help FOMO
While focusing on technology might not create the most rejuvenating break possible, it might be the right option if it will help you focus after you take your break. If you tend to spend a lot of time on social media, or reading your emails, then taking time during your break to focus on one of those things could help you worry less that you are missing out.
A real key to taking a tech break is to set a timer and stick to it. This can be especially hard if you are checking your email during your break - consider just reading your emails and not responding to anything during a break. Leave that for a pre-determined time when you will respond to emails, otherwise it can be too easy to get sucked into trying to get to inbox zero.
Breaks are best when concentration is declining
The absolute best time to take a break is when your concentration is declining. This is easy to see when you are trying to teach something you know well to another person. Since you know the material well, it's easy for you to keep going (see the point below), but since it is new to your student, you will often notice them losing concentration - looking into the distance, missing parts of what you say. Right when you notice that starting to happen is the best time to take a break; right when concentration is starting to decline you want to take a break so that focus can be refreshed.
Noticing this in yourself can be pretty tough. You're using your focus on the task at hand, but you're also trying to be mindful of how well you're able to keep your focus. If you truly notice that you're spacing out or getting lost in thought, it's time to take a break. I personally have a really hard time with this because I go too easy on myself and decide that it's time for a break when my concentration is still strong.
Adjust when you take a break based on how difficult the task is
If what you're working on is hard, for you, then you'll need to take breaks more often. If it's really easy, then you can take fewer breaks.
When put this way, it seems obvious, but this is why there is no 'perfect' length of time to spend on a task before taking a break. There are a lot of articles on the internet arguing against the pomodoro technique (very basically, twenty-five minutes working followed by a five minute break, with a longer break after 2 hours). There are plenty of reasons why that exact structure isn't going to work well for someone. Maybe they are working on something that is really easy and their concentration is still high after 25 minutes. Maybe it's a task where the person feels that they have to 'load' a lot of information into their brain and taking breaks means having to reload all that information (programming is often this way). Break timing is a balancing act between the cost of switching tasks with the benefit of restoration of concentration - there's no perfect solution for everyone.
Timed work-length may be best
A small study on students found that those who didn't spend their energy deciding when to take a break had higher motivation and concentration with lower levels of fatigue and distractedness. Students were randomly assigned to study in longer chunks (24 minutes followed by a 6 minute break) shorter chunks (12 minute blocks followed by a 3 minute breaks) or to self-regulate their study and break times. The students who were taking systematic breaks reported feeling better at the end of their study period, though they did not appear to do more work than the self-regulated students.
This was one study done on a relatively small number of students, so it is not the final word on timed work session versus self-regulated work sessions. But it does lend some credence to the philosophy behind the pomodoro method - letting a system decide when you take breaks might allow you to feel better about your work because you're spending less energy deciding when to rest.
Keep breaks (relatively) short
Have you ever come to the realization that the short break you intended to take turned into a really long session of TikTok/Reddit/news/etc ? I sure have. That's why setting a timer can make your break better, by making sure that it doesn't go too long. A fifteen minute break is likely long enough to make sure you feel refreshed, and breaks as short as one minute have been shown to be restorative.
Incorporate nature
There are two types of attention we all have, involuntary and voluntary. Nature is less taxing for both compared to alternatives. In an urban environment your involuntary attention system is on high alert to keep you safe. When you are working or studying your voluntary attention system is getting a workout. A break with a video or game is still asking for work from your voluntary attention system. A walk can be a great break (fitness plus break), but if you are walking in a city or suburb, then your involuntary system is working hard to keep you safe.
This is why breaks involving nature are better, they ask little of your voluntary and your involuntary attention systems, restoring both. You don't have to move to Walden to get the benefit either, pictures of nature provide the same level of benefit. This gallery of landscapes is a great collection of pictures to use for your next nature break.
Bonus personal recommendation
Whenever I have a bad night's sleep and find it hard to concentrate the next day, I find a yoga nidra to be the best type of break I can take. A yoga nidra is a guided meditation (not the active yoga most Westerners are familiar with), usually followed while lying down. Here's my favorite.
I find a yoga nidra will tend to improve my mood and concentration for a couple of hours. There is some scientific evidence for yoga nidra's positive effects on concentration, but the research area is quite young and there haven't been a lot of studies.
So go forth and do good work. And remember that a properly considered break can lead to more productivity than just barreling ahead.