- Breaks should not be more exciting than work or else we will not be inclined to work - Breaks should be taken with the intention of freeing your mind from whatever work you are doing - When finding yourself conscious after being in the flow, it's probably time for a break ### Realism - If you’re completing most of what’s on your list at least five days out of seven, then you’re as productive as any student realistically needs to be ## Practices - Break before you need it, before it's too late and you don't have cognitive energy to properly do so - Should be breaks in the sense that you want to do it - Give yourself an hour for meals instead of 20 minutes - Give yourself some free time at night - at least 30 minutes to wind down, part of [[Work cycles]] ### Rituals - Micro-journal - 10 deep breaths ### Activities - [[My Long Pomodoro Break Ideas]] - Reading, walking, chatting - Have a nap as soon as I start contemplating it - If not, I end up not doing anything ## Benefits - Mental calculations can be more demanding than physical labor, and require more recovery time - Prevents [[Burnout]] - Resting gives us dopamine, renewing synapses and prepares them for more effort ## Absence - A lack of breaks results in poor memory, mental fog, and fatigue