The Benefits of Taking Breaks During Back-to-Back Meetings
Microsoft's Human Factors Lab studied 14 participants across two days of video meetings. Find out why taking breaks between back-to-back meetings can help reduce stress and reset the brain.
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Sahil Bloom
Exploring my curiosity and sharing what I learn along the way. Gave up a grand slam on ESPN in 2012 and still waiting for it to land.
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If you sit in back-to-back meetings at work, read this: pic.twitter.com/87Bay3x46D
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023 -
Microsoft's Human Factors Lab studied 14 participants across two days of video meetings.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
Day 1: 4 back-to-back 30-min meetings.
Day 2: 4 30-min meetings with 10-min breaks in between.
Participants wore EEG caps to monitor electrical activity in their brains.
The takeaways: -
Takeaway 1: Back-to-Back Meetings Promote Stress
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
Back-to-back meetings created an accumulating buildup of stress in the brain. Anticipation of transitions caused further spikes.
Short breaks in between meetings allowed the brain to reset and never experience the stress buildup. pic.twitter.com/Dcws3Mipvh -
Takeaway 2: Breaks Promote Performance
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
Back-to-back meetings resulted in negative levels of frontal alpha symmetry, a brain state connected to lower levels of engagement.
Short breaks in between meetings resulted in positive levels, meaning participants performed better. pic.twitter.com/GKzdqGICCR -
The answer seems to be that short breaks in between meetings are necessary:
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
• Eliminate stress buildup
• Improve performance
• Reduce impact of attention residue
I started implementing 25-minute meetings into my schedule and immediately noticed a positive impact.
Try it! -
To summarize:
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
• Back-to-back meetings are harming mental health and work performance.
• Schedule short breaks to allow a reset and improve performance.
Follow me @SahilBloom for more and retweet the first tweet in the thread to share it with others! https://t.co/PHFpYBFb4l -
I once had 8 back-to-back zoom meetings and I’m not sure I ever fully recovered. Now I know why…
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
🤣
The full article on the research can be found here. https://t.co/nR8zmEkCtk -
Meetings to discuss meetings are where companies go to die.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023 -
Researchers studied the effects of a walk on the cognitive performance of a group of children.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
Reading comprehension was significantly better after exercise. Spelling and arithmetic were modestly better.
Recess is sacred—for children and adults alike! pic.twitter.com/2xs0SFXoYN -
I have personally found that the best way to enforce 25-minute meetings is to eliminate the 5 minutes of “how about the weather” low value chit chat most meetings open with.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) March 30, 2023
If you set the tone to dive in and stay focused, there are few things that take more than 25 minutes.