Press Pause to Beat the Boss
- Jen Siow
- Sep 7, 2023
- 5 min read
The importance of taking breaks and prioritizing rest before tackling boss-level projects
Summary:
Tell me if this story sounds familiar: you’re in the last few levels of your new favorite game and you just can’t put it down. At this point, you’ve racked up hundreds of hours of gameplay gaining experience, honing your battle skills, and stockpiling all manner of helpful supplies. You’ve fought your way through the castle and you’ve reached the final boss battle. It’s supposed to be the toughest fight of them all, but with all those victories under your belt, what’s one more fight? After all, you’ve been gaming all day so you’ve got some good momentum going, right? Without further pause, you rush into the dungeon to claim your final victory.
Only… this battle turns out to be an utter and epic failure. Your hand begins to cramp from the marathon gaming session you just logged. Your reflexes are a little off, so you miss parry after parry. You’re burning through your potions and meals and the two fairies you had in your pack (weren’t there supposed to be four in there?) have already revived you as much as they can. In one final flurry of curses and smashed buttons, the two most dreaded words flicker across your screen: GAME OVER.
What in Hyrule just happened?! After all those hours of practice, surely you should have been able to get through this boss level? Well, not necessarily. All those continuous hours logged without a break are likely what got you into this mess. Keep reading to find out why it’s important to spend some time on your pause screen before tackling your next boss-level project.
Table of Contents:
1. Why breaks are important.
The most important benefit of taking a break may seem obvious, but it’s often overlooked or downplayed: break time is a great way to replenish your energy bar. Whether it’s a magic meter or a stamina wheel, this concept is even built into many of the games we love. Rest is a wonderful way to refill our various energy containers and comes with fewer costs than "magic" methods like sugar or caffeine.
It may seem counterintuitive, but stepping away from your work for a bit can actually help you progress better and reach your goals faster. Taking short breaks during periods of work has been shown to bolster motivation and increase productivity. Break time gives you a chance to find inspiration and return to your task with a new perspective. Hitting pause and coming back later is also a great way to combat decision fatigue. The time spent away from the decision gives your brain a chance to consolidate the pros and cons, allowing you to make a more thoughtful, logical choice.
2. What to prioritize during a break.
In order to get the most out of your pause screen experience, be mindful of the purpose of your break: giving your mind a chance to rest and reset. However, a break is also a chance for you to scroll through your mental inventory and replenish your stores as necessary. If you’ve used up all of your focus meter working on a paper, use your break time to do something mindless, like taking a walk or doodling. If your health or energy bar is looking a bit low, use your break to grab some food or a quick nap. Listen to your body and brain, then use your break time to give them what they need to jump back into battle.
3. When good breaks go bad.
A good break should replenish your energy and/or mental inventory while helping you work more efficiently towards that final boss level. That being said, not all breaks are helpful. If you find yourself spending more time on your breaks than you're spending on your work, you may need to re-evaluate your priorities. Remember: you want to take a moment to hit the ‘pause’ button, not the ‘save and quit’ button! To help keep your breaks on track, set a timer for the length of your break (10 or 15 minutes is usually a good amount of time) and make sure to honor the timer when it goes off.
Just like your gameplay experience may differ from what you’ve seen on Twitch, your break experience may differ. What works as a rest activity for your best friend may not work for you. Similarly, what you need during a break one day may not be what you need during a break the next day. The best way to ensure you are maximizing your break benefits is to be honest with yourself. What experience is your brain craving today? Did yesterday’s break activity leave you feeling recharged or drained? Do you really need another break or are you just avoiding your work?
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4. Helpful ways to spend a break.
If you’re not sure what to do during your next break, here are five activities you can try:
Get up and move — give your body a change of pace while giving your brain a boost! Even a brief 10 minutes of physical activity has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve mood.
Eat a healthy meal or snack — use your break time to replenish your energy bar with healthy foods like fruit and veggie slices, a handful of nuts, low-fat yogurt, or lightly flavored popcorn.
Meditate — quiet your racing mind with a few minutes of mindfulness and/or meditation.
Take a power nap — give your brain the ultimate break by letting it turn off for 10-30 minutes. A power nap can also help improve memory and boost alertness — just don’t forget to set an alarm!
Enjoy a change of scenery — take some time to explore a space outside of your work area. Walk outside, sit in a different room, or run a quick errand to break the monotony of staring at one office wall all day.
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5. What to do when you can't take a break.
By now you’re probably sold on the benefits of hitting that pause button, but what do you do when that’s not an option? Remember that the main point of taking a break is to give your brain some relief from its current task. If you can’t step away from work, try switching to a different kind of work for a bit to keep things fresh. If you’ve been logging numbers all morning, switch things up by taking half an hour to catch up on client emails. If you’ve been working alone on a project, use the next hour to talk to a colleague and get their feedback on your work so far. By switching up the type of work you do, you’ll be able to give your brain something different to focus on long enough to replenish some of your motivation bar!
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6. Get your break on!
The next time you’re gearing up for that big boss battle, take a moment to press pause and take stock. Are you prepared for the challenges ahead? Is your energy bar full? Do you have all the supplies you need? Maybe a fairy or two in your back pocket for when things get truly dire? If you answered yes, go forth and conquer! If you answered no, maybe it's time to take that break and better prepare yourself for your next boss-level win.
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