My word

The art of taking breaks

Samaira Guleria, Class X, Carmel Convent School, Chd

Prioritising your day is the most important thing you can do to help achieve your goals. But spending your whole day working hard and being productive can lead to physical and mental fatigue which demands rest so you can restart your work.

Why breaks are important? Burning out is the easiest way to give up on your goals. You put so much time and effort into working hard and getting to that goal that your brain or body end up giving out on you and you start to feel like "why keep trying". Taking a break gives your brain a time to reset and refresh. So that when you come back from the break you feel refreshed and ready to tackle the next project.

Still wondering why you need to take breaks?

Taking breaks helps sharpen your memory and give your brain time to absorb information. It is very helpful if you are a student working on memorising a speech or presentation.

Frequency and duration of breaks

The best way is to take alternate breaks. After every activity of 1.5-2 hours, take a 10-minute break and every 4 hours take a 30 minute break. Vary those slightly if you find that you need a little more or a little less time to come back focussed and ready to work hard. Why 10 and 30 minutes? Because in 5 minutes or less, you don't get enough time to put your brain to rest. You won't feel any more efficient after the break so it ends up being a waste. More than 30 or 40 minutes you will put you fully into relaxation mode. Thus, making it harder to return to work.

The right way out

A large part of making breaks a helpful part of your day is to time when you take the breaks correctly. You don't want to be disturbed by an annoying alarm sound while you are focussed on a task. That will pull your focus away from the task at hand and affect your chain of thought. Time your breaks to be at the end of certain tasks even if that means they aren't perfectly planned throughout the day.

I also never recommend taking breaks within the first hour of starting your work time or while ending it. Those hours are the easiest to get distracted and lose motivation. So try to keep your breaks spaced evenly throughout the main 80 per cent of your day. Don't let yourself take a break 30 minutes before you're done for the day or you won't get any productivity in those last 30 minutes. Also, if there is a certain time of the day that you find yourself struggling to stay focused and motivated then try to plan a break around that time.

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Save water before it drowns you!

Anubhav Rana, Class X, St Mary’s School, Chandigarh

When the world rose to the first dawn and since then the crust on which we walk at present has always fascinated us with its immense and eternal wonders. The idea that someday we will strive for water was never allowed to strike the minds of the folks but it is high time now when we should answer to the call of planet's tomorrow.

We have always talked about our rights but have we ever given a thought to the duties that we are bound to do? The generation X, millennial, and Z must rise for the idea 'Will the world one day become extinct because of thirst?' With each passing day we are nearing the planet's uncertain future. Paucity of water has already claimed several lives. To reverse the same we need to adopt some stringent steps.

Let's get into max throttle and play an instrumental role in saving the times that follow. The days are not far away when we will shed the blood of our brothers for the precious element if we keep deteriorating our planet at such pace. One can't blame the people sitting at the helm of the country's affairs for not doing their work efficiently. Mother Earth is ours so we all must participate and those so called rulers of the nations must join hands to play a key role in this matter.

Future belongs to those who prepare for it today. All nations must come together to address the issue and if anyone thinks that it's not their priority then the days are not far when they will face the same. It would be like saying when people are in the same boat and there is a hole at the other end and the people at the safer end are claiming 'Thank God! At least the hole is not at our end."

We need to invent new ideas for conservation of water. Sustainability should be practiced in all spheres. Revival of rivers and lakes is also a necessity for native people. Rainwater harvesting should be adopted and better ways should be developed to water fields. These are just a pipsqueak of ideas that we can do. You may not be able to do great things, but you can do small things in a great way. It is always better to be late than never.

Just having a great mind is not enough; the point is to use the idea as well. Ask those who have been victims of drought because as well know that people tend to realise the value of things only after they are lost.