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Ben Halpern
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What kind of breaks do you take throughout the work day?

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Raphael Jambalos

I often take "Facebook" breaks throughout the day. Although, I'm pretty sure this ain't the best use of my "break time". Sometimes reverting to some kind of mindless scrolling gives me a breather from all the logic I've been doing throughout the day. I also take short walks mid-day. How about you?

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Ben Halpern

I take pretty frequent "walk around the building and think" breaks as part of my workflow. I'm still working through the problem, but it's a bit of a break.

I'll sometimes take a break to browse /r/politics throughout the day. Right now our office has no couch area, which would be a better place to take a real break, but we'll maybe have something like that soon.

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Gunnar Gissel

I make sure to take a walk break or two, especially if I’ve been looking at something tricky and coming up dry

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Ben Halpern

Do you have any queues to do this? Timers or apps or anything? Or is it just a routine?

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Gunnar Gissel • Edited

I rely on a clock and habit :)

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edA‑qa mort‑ora‑y

My primary break mechanism is run by a CD player. I've got 30-70 minute windows to get stuff done before it plays to the end and I must get up and replace the CD. (Sorry digital music, there's no such equivalent)

The breaks I do take:

  • stretching break (the normal one)
  • bike break (when I don't really feel like working anymore)
  • walking break (only if too sore/tired for bike break)
  • nap break (because I work from home and I can)
  • lunch/dinner break (can't be a workaholic without food)
  • twitter/reddit break (the brain can still do stuff on low-power)
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Andy Zhao (he/him)

the brain can still do stuff on low-power

Totally feel this way. I think if anything it's kind of helping me recharge when I run my mindless cycle of reddit/twitter/etc. There are definitely times where I need to close the laptop though. I'd like to say I have a decent balance :)

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George

I often forget how long I've been working and sitting down for which tends to be really bad, sometimes I'm sat down for 7-10 hours at a time. Most of the time I don't need to get up from my chair for food or drink because I've basically built a kitchen into my office. My breaks often include:

  • Falling over from being sat down for too long
  • Walking to the shops
  • When I do remember I often take long walks, especially when something is bugging me

  • Falling over the cat

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Harry Dennen

😂 I've been there... And since I can tell you're totally looking for unsolicited advice, I'll recommend having a look at this article from James Clear: jamesclear.com/environment-design-...

The gist is that the decisions you make are largely governed by the environment. Like for instance, putting a kitchen in your office creates a disincentive for break taking. Take care of yourself pal.

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Ghost

I try and get up and walk around some. Maybe grab a coffee or water and make sure I stand long enough to get the blood flowing good everywhere before sitting down and going back to work.

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Alex Iskold 🗽

I don't really have much time for a break, but I switch between companies and businesses. Switching is actually, while seem super hard, makes it easier for me to get through the day. Kind of like changing activities. Another thing that I do is I make sure I walk to meetings if I can, this helps a lot. I also exercise first thing in am, to make sure I stay fresh.

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Peter Mbanugo

I take 5 minutes after every 20 minutes and just walk around, stretch, or drink water. After some hours a break to workout and in some days take a nap

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miku86

I'm taking three breaks:

  • a 30min Walking-Break after 2hrs of work
  • a 120min Walking, Eating, Napping-Break after 4 hrs of work
  • a 30min Walking-Breaking after 6hrs of work
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Jochem Stoel

Smoke break!

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Juan Julián Merelo Guervós

When I stay at home for working on non-academic stuff (as if there's such a thing), I go out to buy groceries and other supplies in the neighborhood and then I cook while I listen to some podcast. It's quite relaxing, and very nutritive.
Chili con carne for 5 people, with a full tupperware for the next day