“Using systematic breaks to get along with friends or colleagues is great for collaboration, engagement, relationships and work.”
Busy and overworked lifestyle rather than a leisurely lifestyle, has become an aspirational status for the majority of people in town and sadly this is what they term as being productive.
Actually, that is how the world has been working lately. Everyone is chasing the art (productivity) of getting things done, without even having adequate knowledge about the art itself.
Maximizing your productivity is not about hustling as hard as you can but is more about making the most out of the hustle, especially when dealing with customers on the web.
The will to grind harder to impress upon clients is all well and good, but pushing through that extra hour, skipping meals and smashing the keyboard keys for hours is actually not making you more productive and customer stopover in a long run.
Thus, knowing when to step out of the cubical and/or turning off the computer to garner some fresh air is necessary to give a big bump to your client influencing capabilities. Still not convinced? Read on further to understand how precise systematic breaks can make your day better.
Working for long stretches – trying to explain the odds and evens of the service to the customers – without a break leads to stress and mental exhaustion that has a direct impact on your creativity. You will feel trapped in your own thoughts and won’t be able to get things right no matter how much you try; and at last, you will end up cursing your life and confusing the customer you are dealing with.
Well, breathe, and rather than getting irked, get your ass outside for a walk detaching yourself from the sights and sounds that you have been exposed too while at your desk. Doing this will stimulate your senses and will help you think about the task and customers in hand.
If you are into yoga, get those postures right or get yourself some snacks. Aha moments come to those who take breaks; it also extends a person’s level of engagement with surroundings including customers which, in turn, is linked with productivity.
Business is all about building relationships with not just customers but also colleagues around your space. If you tend to ignore everyone around you just for the sake of work, then you might end up exasperating yourself very soon. Developing relationships with people around you is necessary and a never-ending process that certainly keeps the vibe right and mood light.
Using systematic breaks to get along with friends or colleagues is great for collaboration, engagement, relationships (all kind of relationships, *winky face*), and work. You will always have someone by your side to share your highs and lows with. Moreover, being seen as a person who takes an active interest in what is going on around will also have a positive impact on your personality.
Our entire life revolves around seeking motivation. From gathering the motivation to get up early in the morning to garnering the inspiration needed to achieve targets, motivation is the key to achieve goals and “systematic breaks” – the path to motivation when a task is as challenging as impressing upon a customer.
Prolonged attention to a single task hampers performance thus luring yourself to stay motivated is necessary. Paperdoers explains when students face time-consuming tasks such as, studying before exams or completing an essay in time it is best for them to impose brief breaks in their schedule so that one can stay committed throughout.
Set proper yet practical limitations to when you can enjoy a break. Once you know that you can relax only after you had completed a specific chunk of a certain task, you feel the urge to complete it as soon as possible. This is one way to motivate yourself when the task is grueling.
Scientists have known for some time that one purpose of sleep is to fortify memory. Although you cannot sleep when you have deadlines to meet and customers on hold, however, you can always consider taking a break, as there is also evidence that resting while awake promotes memory formation. During a rest period, brain reviews and ingrains what it has been learning and creates space for improvements.
Downtime refreshes the brain’s stores of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to achieve the highest levels of performance thus helping you interact better with your customers.
Moments of respite may even be necessary to keep one’s model compass in working order and maintain a sense of self.
A good break helps switch brain activity to another area thus helping to renew focus throughout the day. The activities below have ‘the’ power to refresh and recharge your mind and trust me you should consider adding them to your schedule even if you are one of those dedicated and busy employee.
- Walk or exercise. The famous blogger Linda Wasmer Andrews discovered that a walking break led to more creative ideas than a sitting break, and the creativity afterglow remained even after the subjects returned to their desks.
- Have lunch or a healthy snack. Try giving your mind a new source of energy. The benefits are two-fold, you recharge your mind and body at the same time.
- Change the environment. Leaving your work environment and moving to another area will help your brain find peace and switch gears.
- Laugh Often. Laughter is the best way to fight boredom. It gets both your blood flowing and takes your mind out of the context.
- Get creative. Interacting with customers require you to use your logical left-brain so choose a break activity that will stimulate your creative and visual right-brain like drawing.
There are situations when you cannot even think about taking a break. If stuck in any such situation consider switching tasks rather than focusing on the same task with a distracted and tired mind. There is so much you can do to toll your mind back on customer preferences; all you need to do is try to figure out what strategy works the best for you.