Breaks.

So I’m taking my Friday afternoon lunch hour a couple of hours later than usual. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been in a training class all week. I have spent the better part of the last four days staring at a 14-inch laptop screen, trying to follow along with an instructor that is piped in via VoIP and then doing the exercises as indicated. The instructor seemed very nice and he knew his stuff, but he didn’t believe in stopping for a break. He took one 15 minute break the first day of the class and yesterday he took a seven minute break. Other than that, if there was a need for the latrine or something, you were on your own. One hoped that they didn’t miss any important information while they were answering the calls of nature.

I need to take a break every so often when I’m working. I even need to take a break from play sometime. Taking a break helps keep me focused. I did find my attention wandering a little at times during the class, but I would walk around within the length of my headset cord and look at something other than a computer screen for a few moments and find my focus again.

I still think breaks are really important, though. When I work at the office I join a couple of my co-workers and we do laps around the parking lot. It’s a good way to stretch the legs, get a little bit of exercise and to enjoy a few moments of fresh air. We go out in most weather conditions, though we tend to avoid the more drenching episodes of rain.

I’m going to go for a walk now and stretch my legs a bit. I hear it’s fairly nice out for these parts. I need to get a breath of fresh air.