Breaking into a new habit
At Kalico, we appreciate the importance of a healthy work environment and try to maintain healthy work habits as well. One of those important habits is the need to take a daily break. In many industries, breaks play an important and necessary role in our overall health and sanity. However, as essential as it may seem to the daily workflow, taking a break certainly can be hard.
In North America, it is reported that only 1 in 5 office workers take an actual lunch break away from their desk, while 28% of workers report taking a break seldom, if ever. With substantial workloads and demanding deadlines, it may seem like sacrificing your break can be the most beneficial option to your overall time management—but studies have shown that it can actually be quite the opposite. “Never taking a break from very careful thought work actually reduces your ability to be creative,” says Kimberly Elsbach, a management professor at UC-Davis who studies the psychology of the workplace. “It sort of exhausts your cognitive capacity and you’re not able to make the creative connections you can if your brain is more rested. If you’re skipping lunch to continue to push forward in a very intense cognitive capacity, then you’re probably not doing yourself any favors.”
Even knowing that it can be more helpful to pause throughout the day may not be enough to break the bad habit of not doing it. Perhaps it’s simply a matter of finding what satisfies you the most on a personally level. If just eating lunch isn’t your thing, try walking around and see what you find most interesting or inspiring— maybe a window display or sign that is of interest. You could instagram photos on a walk or write in a journal. Even surfing the internet or goofing off online has been shown to be just as productive a break as any other.
Over the next few weeks, Kalico will make a point to take a break everyday. And while doing so we will share with you what we do or see on our social media channels using the hashtag #kalicobreaktime. This will be a great way for us to stay honest and share the progress of breaking into a new habit. Plus, we’d love for you join us! If you see or do something inspiring, creative or relaxing on your next break, post a pic of it to our facebook or twitter page, or to your own instagram, with the hashtag #kalicobreaktime!
