The Importance of Coffee Breaks

My first job out of college was at a PR firm. The job was such that every 15-minutes of the day would be billable to a client, or to the agency. Time literally was money. Lowly account associates, like me, were almost always 100% billable. This meant that every 15-minutes of the 40-hour work week was allocated time. You tracked it. You wrote it down. Every hour you didn't bill was an extra hour you stayed late. And so it went. Early on I was taught, and this instance was trained, that any sort of break was a waste of time. 

Then I got wise. 

Travel to countries outside of the United States, and visit some of the progressive companies here, and you'll see how important it is to take breaks. It's a communal ritual. It's not just to counter the physical impact of office work that has us sitting in front of computers for hours at a time, but to build the relationships that are critical in today's idea-driven world. 

So, I'm a big advocate of the coffee break, or tea break, or water break even. At least 30-minutes of my day is dedicated to socializing with someone over coffee. Sometimes there's agenda. Often there isn't. Always there's the goal of building a greater sense of community at work. Mentally, I get a chance to clear my head, or challenge my thinking with a good dialogue. Physically, I can get some blood flowing by accompanying my coffee with a brisk walk. 

I've learned as much, if not more, from some of the conversations I've had over coffee, and I come back to my desk energized and even more productive. Too often we're resigned to saying that there's not enough time for this sort of activity, but slowing down to speed up is a philosophy I live life by. 

So invest some time today connecting with people, over coffee, or your choice of shared activity. It opens up a whole new world.