Tip #25: Breaking Good.

When you start your career as a junior, it’s easier to get work done at work. You don’t get invited to many meetings and people avoid you like you have coronavirus. Yet still, you have to be the first one in and last one out but that's a rant for another day.

Now, for those of you who’ve been at this for a few years, you’re a little more secure in your role, people actually talk to you, you have more responsibility, which means more meetings, which means you have less time to work at work. And so you continue to put in evenings and weekends like those infected juniors.

In the advertising world, we wear these long hours like a badge of honour. 

“I haven’t taken a holiday in 2 years,” boasts the out-of-shape, pale-skinned, and sleep-deprived copywriter.

Part of the reason is this ass-backward advertising culture we've created. Part of it is because many of us enjoy what we do and spending time with each other. Part of it is because we're driven to succeed, or in my case, driven not to suck (carrot or the stick, innit?). And another part is because the nature of our work is so abstract. There are no "right answers," so our work always feels unresolved no matter how much time we spend on a project. But maybe the problem has less to do with us not having enough time and more to do with how we use the time we do have.

If you look at professional athletes, they don't just play their sport to get better at their sport. Everything is measured. They work on individual skills. They know when to train, how long to train, and when to rest. They know exactly what they should be eating, when they should eat, and how much. The same goes for their sleep. They also analyze their performance and energy levels as well as see sports psychologists to sharpen their mental game. They do whatever it takes to gain an edge.

As for professional creatives, well, we drink lattes, play ping-pong, eat pizza, show up at the blank page, and hope the ad gods deliver in time for our presentations. 

This subject warrants an entire book but I don't have time to write one and you don't have time to read one. So for the time being, below are a handful of things I’ve learned about how taking more breaks throughout the day might actually help you be more productive.

• I came across a study that suggested the most productive people took the most breaks. It suggested that the optimal work to break ratio for peak productivity was 52 to 17. So 52 minutes of work followed by a 17-minute break, repeated throughout the day. This wasn’t a creative-specific study but all I want you to take from this is that breaks are healthy and necessary. The key though is being strategic with those breaks, working purposefully for 52 minutes, and then breaking purposefully for 17, which brings me to the next point.
• The 100% Dedication Theory is the notion that whatever you do, do it full-on. So when you work, don’t look at your phone or social media or email. Work. And when it's time to stare at your phone, do that full-on as well. Separate the two activities. By blurring the lines we become way less efficient because were you really working or were you in a TikTok blackhole? 
• When you start thinking of breaks as tools to serve your work instead of just being an escape from work, you might start to reconsider what you do on your breaks. Use them as opportunities to rest and refuel your brain. If you eat a burger and fries for lunch followed by a big ass latte and a cookie, you’re going to crash in the afternoon. Eat better. Think better.
• Try and exercise during the workday, maybe over lunch. The endorphins will energize you more than that afternoon coffee and a cookie. Try going for a walk on one of your breaks. Or even just a stretch. Find a 10-minute yoga class online (especially if you WFH right now).
• Don't work in any one given session until you're completely burnt and coming up empty, unless that's the only working session you plan on doing that day. If we think of concentration as a muscle don't work the muscle until failure. It needs proper rest in between sets to perform at an optimal level.
• Try to end individual working sessions on a positive note. Don't wait until you're stuck and frustrated. Force out one last good idea or one last interesting question to explore so when you come back to the work, it's with momentum instead of fear.
• Meditate. Do it. Our noggins are our moneymakers and meditating is like a spa for your brain. Find even 5 minutes to shut down, breathe deeply, think about nothing, and then get back to work with a fresh noodle.

If you love your job and enjoy working day and night, you've won the career lottery. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it every single day and night. This is a career. It's meant to last more than a few years. If you do too much of any one thing or see too much of any one person, over time, you could end up ruining the thing you love, and fast. Trust me.

If you’re producing at work and delivering at a high standard, and your agency still expects you to stay late because it “shows commitment” it might be time to start seeing other agencies. If on the other hand, you’re not being productive during work hours, your agency has every right to expect you to stay. 

I don’t expect you to incorporate all of these things but I hope that 1 or 2 of them stick with you and the next time you’re feeling the heat on a tight deadline, this article pops into your head and helps you have a more productive day because you took more strategic breaks.

 Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Hi, I'm Dan. Add me as a contact or follow me for more stuff kinda sorta like this. Okay, break's over. Get back to work.