Take regular breaks

You know the feeling. You've been pounding at an issue for hours and haven't made any progress – yet, it feels like you're almost there. When you finally get up, your back is sore, your mouth is dry, and your problem is still unresolved.

You might not be able to find a solution precisely because you've been working hard on the issue for a long time without taking a break.

Moving your body

We sit way too much every day, which has adverse effects on our health as it raises the risk of a whole slew of chronic diseases. To reduce the harm, it's crucial to take regular breaks.

There are many things you can do in those breaks. You can chat with your colleagues, drink water, stretch, do housework, take a quick walk, or yes, [[Avoid distractions - and focus intensely | check your phone]]. The important thing is to get up and away from the computer and move around.

As a great alternative, you can use a standing desk, which doesn't have the same adverse health effects, although it seems a mix between sitting and standing is best.)

Refreshing your mind

It's very easy to get caught up in the trap of trying to solve an issue or finish a non-trivial task in one sitting. However, that's both unhealthy and counterproductive.

When your mind takes a break, it often comes up with an idea of how to move ahead. Frequently, all it takes is to step back and get off the beaten path that we've trodded to see that another reaches the destination.

In less symbolic terms, we might have pursued a particular idea for too long and kept going because we felt we had almost figured it out.

Standing up, moving away from the computer for ten minutes, and giving your mind a break is often all we need. But sometimes, we need more time to find the solution. If you go for a walk, you might find that inspiration hits you while walking or that you have the seeds of the solution when you settle back to work.

On other occasions, you need even more time and input.

Trusting your subconscious

It happened to me several times that I finished the day frustrated because I had not made any progress on a thorny issue. I called it a day, went home, had a meal, and had a good night's sleep, and the following day, the solution miraculously appeared in my mind.

So trust your subconscious mind – it keeps thinking about the problem and making associations that will give you new ideas. If you let it go to work; it won't if the conscious part is already occupied with the same problem.

The work-break rhythm

So how long should the breaks be?

You might have heard of the Pomodoro Technique: the basic idea is to set a timer for 25 minutes and start working. When the timer goes off, you immediately step away from the computer, take a 5-minute break, and then restart.

I've followed this technique over the years*. When doing deep work, I usually double the duration; I work intensely for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break. For lighter work, like writing emails, reading articles, paying the bills, etc., I follow the regular 25-5 rhythm.

Ultimately, the duration doesn't matter as much as the cadence if you keep the ratio roughly the same. Alternating between work and rest (or, from your mind's perspective, focus and wandering) teaches your mind when to focus and rest, making it more efficient.

Breaking the flow

Isn't standing up just because the timer runs out when you're making great progress (when you're "in the flow") counter-productive?

Maybe so, but that's not my experience. First, if you focus, 50 minutes is plenty of time to get a lot done. Second, it's effortless to get back into it after the break—you interrupted the flow, but you know what's next and can easily take up the thread.

(Supporting my experience, research supports the idea that you get more productive when you give your mind regular breaks.)

And on the plus side, your body and mind get their well-deserved break.

Summary

Sitting for long is detrimental to your health. You have to get up and move regularly.
Your mind needs breaks, too, and it'll resume work with newfound vigor after them
Taking regular breaks helps avoid going down a rabbit hole that leads nowhere.
Your subconscious will work on unresolved problems while you recharge. Get a good night's sleep, and you might find you're much closer to solving the problem the next day
Use the Pomodoro Technique: 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break, alternated throughout the day. Double the durations for more demanding tasks.
Don't worry about breaking your flow with the breaks. You'll still have most of the context in your mind, and you can resume with possibly new ideas.

* With some modifications: I don't plan any "pomodoros" (the 25-minute chunks of work), nor do I make notes at the end of the day about what I did and how many pomodoros it took me.