Work for 25 minutes (or other time session that fits you) and then take an absolutely no content break to fully rest.
At our house we are exploring time tracking as a tool for achieving our goals. So one of the subconcepts within it is Pomodoro: idea of working for 25 minutes and resting for 5 or taking a longer break after multiple work sessions.
Lena came up with this really good term of “5 minutes no content break”. So on top of actually taking the break, we also need to ensure we are getting the proper kind.
This means ideally no talking, no instagram, no reading, no doing other high demand tasks.
It could be called meditation, since to fully rest our brain during those 5 minutes, we need to pause and recharge.
Additionally, this time is good for planning within the execution of your task for potential pivots and reconsiderations.
So I tell myself: “I will have a break. A proper break doing nothing, not consuming any content. “
This will also make the completion of the previous task more directed and intentional, as well as with more urgency. Knowing that I will have to stand up from my desk (imagine that!) and walk around, I am making sure I do my best with the task within the time left.