Four Ways to Incorporate Microbreaks into You Work From Home Routine

Imagine it’s November of 2019, and you’re sitting at your desk in the office going through your morning routine of checking your email, confirming your schedule for the day, and starting to build your to-do list of what needs to get done. You’ve got about 15–minutes until your next meeting starts, so you head over to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. On your way, you say hi to a few people as you walk by, you run into someone from another department that you like and you strike up a casual conversation about a great dinner you had the night before. You check the time on your phone, and realize it’s time to head back to your desk so you can get to the meeting in time.

The story I just went through was a pretty typical scenario in the office, that we never really thought much about. However, it was what’s called a “microbreak” and it gave your brain a chance to relax and recharge - even for just a few minutes. These microbreak’s were part of our daily routine when in the office, without us even really knowing it - a walk to the kitchen, the quick drive out to lunch, or even a quick trip to the restroom where you walk by a co-worker and strike up a conversation.

As we’ve transitioned to do more work from home, many of us our missing these “microbreaks” which is a significant contributor to the burnout that many of us our feeling. I know I’ve felt it, and I’m sure you have too.

Here’s an article I wrote for Success Magazine that goes a little deeper into what microbreaks are all about, some of the research behind it, and how you can incorporate more of them into your daily routine.