How to work at peak productivity-and know when to take a break

A good general rule of thumb is blocking out one-to-two-hour chunks of time in your calendar for uninterrupted work.

You have to stay committed to getting into the rhythm. It’s critical to ignore any distractions or desires to stop working.

Timeboxing is allocating a pre-determined amount of time to finish a given activity. It encourages you to find more efficient ways to finish tasks.

Recognize when you need to take a break and continue later on when you can be more effective. Signs that you need to take a break are:

• Struggling to focus continually.
• If you’re making a lot of little mistakes.
• When you’re feeling agitated or stressed.
• If your eyes are hurting.
• When you feel tired.

Regardless of how you’re feeling, you should take a quick break every 90 minutes or two hours.

Completely detach from work to get refreshed and return to work at peak performance.

Some activities that tend to be beneficial include exercising, stretching and healthy snacking.