How often do you take a break?

Taking breaks as a strategy for success: What you can learn from athletes for your own projects!

An invisible success factor in competitive sports that is far too rarely brought into the public eye is the art of regeneration. Outstanding athletes who have been at the top of their game for years have one thing in common: they are masters of effective recovery. Without meaningful breaks, our own organism has no chance of making the structural changes that our bones, muscles, tendons and metabolic system need after intensive exertion in order to recover and then cope with higher levels of exertion in the long term.

Training rule #1: ‘Muscles and the brain only grow during breaks!’

What applies to the body can be applied one-to-one to the mind by project managers and project team members alike. Only by cyclically alternating between activity and rest can we remain physically and mentally healthy. Ambitious beginners tend to make the same mistake over and over again. They underestimate the power of breaks. They fall for the performance myth of many motivational speakers: ‘The more, the better!’ This is definitely wrong.

As project managers and contributors, we have to be aware that even if we ‘only’ do cognitively demanding work, the same rules apply as in sports. Breaks integrate the previous activity.

The key question when planning the day is: ‘When do I do what and for how long?’ In this short article, I will provide a practical answer to this question and invite you to two experiments.

When is the best time to take a break?

For project participants whose day-to-day work is primarily mentally demanding, this question is easy to answer. After 45 minutes at the latest! Now you might object that such frequent breaks are not practical. Let’s take a quick look at the sports of basketball, handball and football. In football, the whistle is blown for a break after 45 minutes at the latest. In handball, there is a break after 30 minutes and in basketball after each quarter – in Europe after 10 minutes, in the USA after 12 minutes.

At this point, why not test your own belief? What do you think? ‘Does my mind really need a break after 45 minutes of concentration?’ I say: ‘Yes.’ My facial and neck muscles start to tense after about 30 minutes. I also notice this in my clients. And it is precisely these tensions that prevent us humans from listening attentively, thinking clearly and speaking articulately.

What and for how long?

It is clear to me that project participants usually do not have the opportunity to go to the sauna during the working day, or to take an idyllic walk by the lake, the sea or in the mountains to recharge mentally and physically. As a rule, you grit your teeth in discipline and get your work done by the end of the day.

To be clear: in extreme cases, there is nothing wrong with this strategy of fighting your way to the finish line. It only becomes problematic when it is the only strategy. Because in the long run, it inevitably leads to mental exhaustion. The price for the constant fight against tiredness is high. The declining quality of our work will eventually affect the key figures and customer satisfaction.

The good news is that there are very simple, ultra-short measures that take only 30 to 60 seconds. These time-outs can be integrated into the daily project routine and have an immediate refreshing effect. Of course, these exercises cannot magically eliminate deep exhaustion or burnout, but if done regularly and in good time, they reliably prevent these phenomena from occurring. I myself have learned these little rituals from competitive athletes, who use them regularly in the short breaks between exertions to ‘switch off and recharge’.

Experiment 1: micro-triangle move for an effective breather (takes about 30 seconds)

At the beginning of the micro-triangle move, everyone says the same thing: ‘It’ll never work!’ But with a little practice, it does work. The task is to draw an imaginary triangle in the air in front of your body with your right hand and to draw a diagonal line with your left hand at the same time. I have recorded a short video for you to illustrate this.

While doing so, quietly say the six syllables ‘I am fit and wide awake’, i.e. one syllable per edge length. As you say the sentence, draw the triangle up and down twice with your right hand and the line up and down three times with your left hand. As you do this, take six steps across the room each time.

It is best to repeat this exercise three times. It is so demanding in terms of co-ordination that you won’t be able to think about anything else while doing it, and it will give you a little ‘breathing space’ and help you to relax. The electrical activity in your brain shifts from the frontal lobe to the motor areas further back. Try it!

Experiment 2: 5-breath wave trance (duration 60 seconds)

Lying on your back in the sea and gently swaying with the waves is the epitome of a holiday for many people. We can mentally recall the intense experience of the rhythmic up and down for a lifetime. In the ‘5-breath wave trance’ exercise, you follow your own breathing with your mind’s eye while sitting in your office chair, i.e. the movement of your chest. Pay attention to how you breathe in and out.

You will regenerate particularly intensively during this breathing trance if you pronounce the breaths (I recommend five) out loud, saying ‘one, I breathe in’ when inhaling and ‘two, I breathe out’ when exhaling. After the fifth exhalation, take a short breathing break before repeating the exercise. During this break, count to ten.

This exercise consists of a sensory and a simple mental task that together require your full concentration. Many professional athletes use this breathing routine during their time-outs, for example when changing ends in tennis.

Conclusion

If you want to be successful in the long term – whether in competitive sports or when working in projects – you have to understand that breaks are not a sign of weakness, but an indispensable part of any top performance. Regeneration is not a luxury, but a necessity to maintain concentration, creativity and decision-making ability.

Our mental performance follows the same principles as our physical performance: without targeted recovery phases, we fall into a downward spiral of exhaustion, mistakes and declining efficiency. The myth that ‘the more, the better’ does not lead to better results in the long run, but to excessive demands and a decline in performance.

A first step is to schedule tactical breaks – ideally a one-minute break every 45 minutes to relieve the brain and maintain performance. It is crucial to consciously set these breaks and not to wait until concentration is completely exhausted.

Furthermore, breaks should not just be passive, but actively contribute to recovery. With simple but effective techniques such as the micro-triangle move or the 5-breathing-waves trance, you can reduce stress and draw new energy. These short, consciously performed exercises help you to recover faster and start the next work phase feeling fresher.

Last but not least, it is important to consciously counteract before exhaustion takes over. The first warning signs, such as tension, concentration problems or declining creativity, should be taken seriously. Taking small breaks at an early stage not only protects you from mental exhaustion, but also increases your efficiency and satisfaction in your daily work in the long term.

The deciding factor for success is not how long you can go without a break, but how effectively you manage your resources. If you apply these insights from competitive sports to your daily project work, you will see that clever breaks not only improve your own performance, but also make your entire team more productive, focused and satisfied.

Why not take a short break right now?

Notes (partly in German):

Peter Fluehr has written a book on resilience for managers and employees: Kraftzwerge: 45 Impulse für mehr Energie zuhause, im Büro und unterwegs. With the Kraftzwerge, the difficult in everyday working life becomes easy again.

On YouTube, you can find many interesting videos under Peter Fluehr – Kraftlotse.

Further recommended reading:

Busch, Volker: Clear Your Head! How to Gain Clarity, Focus and Creativity, Droemer HC, Munich 2021

Fogg, B.J.: The Tiny Habits Method: Small Steps, Big Impact, btb; 1st ed., Munich 2019

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