Breaks Matter

I read a recent blog post by Randal S. Olson about “The best and worst times to have your case reviewed by a judge.” You know, just in case. He highlighted the book Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman. In one of the chapters, Kahneman talks about how external factors can affect decision making by highlighting the findings from a research article published in PNAS.org three years ago. When researchers examined the data of parole judgments by 8 different judges, they found that the judges approved about 36% of all parole requests they reviewed in a given day. Not great if you’re a hopeful parolee. Then, they took a closer look to identify the time of day for each judgment and an interesting trend was revealed. Judges were more likely to approve a parole request just after they had taken a break from work, with first thing in the morning (after breakfast) being the most favorable time for a positive outcome. When it came closer to break time, it was less likely the judge would give a positive judgment and nearly all of the decisions made just before a break had negative outcomes. Olson mentions that while judges are trusted for their impartial decisions, they too succumb to external factors that impair the decision-making process – they too are human. Olson concluded that it is best to have your parole hearing just after breakfast and, if you’re not up for parole, take regular snack breaks because “the longer you work without a break, the worse you perform.” I have noticed a pattern in my own work schedule that I am most productive in the morning and enjoy a break to take a short walk about 10 AM and then another short break around 2 or 3 PM, depending on my day. I always have a slump about an hour after my lunch is over and that afternoon break really refreshes my brain. I would be interested in hearing from others what you do to break up your work day to reenergize your brain. Leave your comments below.