Poll: How often do you take breaks when working? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you take breaks when working?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Annie Duncan 
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:58
Spanish to English
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| Every 25 minutes | Jul 31, 2017 |
I have a productivity app that is really just a glorified timer, but I find it very useful. I have 25 minutes' work and then a 5-minute break where I get up, stretch, re-set my posture, re-fill my glass of water, check my emails or whatever. The important thing for me is just to make sure I don't stay stuck in one posture, giving my eyes no rest from the screen. I also find it helps me stay focused. When I don't use it, I often find myself procrastinating and browsing the internet, etc and I ver... See more I have a productivity app that is really just a glorified timer, but I find it very useful. I have 25 minutes' work and then a 5-minute break where I get up, stretch, re-set my posture, re-fill my glass of water, check my emails or whatever. The important thing for me is just to make sure I don't stay stuck in one posture, giving my eyes no rest from the screen. I also find it helps me stay focused. When I don't use it, I often find myself procrastinating and browsing the internet, etc and I very much doubt I would have 50 productive minutes every hour.
[Edited at 2017-07-31 09:16 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Annie Duncan wrote:
I have a productivity app that is really just a glorified timer, but I find it very useful. I have 25 minutes' work and then a 5-minute break where I get up, stretch, re-set my posture, re-fill my glass of water, check my emails or whatever. The important thing for me is just to make sure I don't stay stuck in one posture, giving my eyes no rest from the screen. I also find it helps me stay focused. When I don't use it, I often find myself procrastinating and browsing the internet, etc and I very much doubt I would have 50 productive minutes every hour.
[Edited at 2017-07-31 09:16 GMT]
Hi Annie,
what's its name? I'm quite curious to try it.
Thanks!
Francesca
| | | | Roni_S
Slovakia
Local time: 09:58
Slovak to English
Annie Duncan wrote:
I have a productivity app that is really just a glorified timer, but I find it very useful. I have 25 minutes' work and then a 5-minute break where I get up, stretch, re-set my posture, re-fill my glass of water, check my emails or whatever. The important thing for me is just to make sure I don't stay stuck in one posture, giving my eyes no rest from the screen. I also find it helps me stay focused. When I don't use it, I often find myself procrastinating and browsing the internet, etc and I very much doubt I would have 50 productive minutes every hour.
[Edited at 2017-07-31 09:16 GMT]
I find that after about 25-30 minutes my posture begins to suffer and I find myself hunched over the keyboard or twisted to the side in some manner.
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I tend to have a break when I get stuck with a problem, then I get up to stretch my legs, take a coffee, do some chores, walk the dog, etc. Often a new idea or even a solution will come to mind all of a sudden so my breaks are not at regular intervals and occasionally I even get so absorbed that I can forget to take a break…
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Once I'm "in the zone", so to speak, I tend to work for hours on end. I know it's probably not healthy, but it works for me, at least in translation terms. My body may "present me with the bill" sometime down the road.
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It depends entirely on the nature of the project I am working on (easy, rote stuff vs involved, complex), my physical state and my schedule (i.e. how much leeway and free time there is until the scheduled delivery). I also find that my breaks become shorter and less frequent the closer to the deadline I am. I know from past experience that a little bit of adrenaline helps sharpens the senses and I can perform better.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 09:58
Spanish to English
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| Not at regular intervals | Jul 31, 2017 |
I know we're supposed to stop every twenty minutes or so and do eyeball exercises or whatever, but in the real world, when I get the bit between my teeth I prefer to keep going until my body or brain tell me to stop.
Right now, I'm feeling guilty because I didn't do enough actual translation work over the weekend, having taken some time out to help a friend find accommodation after being thrown out by his wife...
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| I usually work whithout breaks | Jul 31, 2017 |
I usually work whithout breaks when I want to finish a work on time. But I think that it is necessary to take a break of 15 minutes after about two hours of work.
| | | | Richard Jenkins
Brazil
Local time: 05:58
Member (2006)
Portuguese to English
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| I've never thought about it. | Jul 31, 2017 |
When I'm on a run doing solid and fluent work, I make a point of not taking a physical break, but force myself to stay put. Any sort of physical interruption, whether it's leaving my desk, going downstairs, grabbing a coffee, etc, can be intrusive and unproductive. One thing can lead to another, and that's the cycle broken.
I guess it's different for everyone, but once I'm in that 'zone', I find it best not to interrupt it.
| | | | Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
United States
Local time: 00:58
Spanish to English
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| When my dog asks for attention | Aug 1, 2017 |
She lets me know when it's time to take a break. Sometimes I also take a break when I'm stuck with a problem, but my biggest motivator is making sure my dog gets to go out when she asks. (She has been known to pretend she wants to pee when she really wants that snack that's waiting for her when we come back indoors.)
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 06:58
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| Any excuse is valid | Aug 1, 2017 |
I don't take regular intervals. That sort of discipline has proven to have negative effects instead of helping. I take breaks regularly for several reasons: a cup of coffee, a cigarette, to eat, to take a shower, to wash clothes or dishes, to cook, to fix things around. I'll find a reason at least once every hour for a 10-15 minute break.
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