How to take proper breaks from work

The year 1843 was a tremendous one for humanity. Whether it is the weekend, the summer holidays that many people in the northern hemisphere are currently taking or the daily rest periods that companies give to their employees, the right for people to take breaks is uncontested. As long ago as 2013, Melissa Mazmanian of the University of California, Irvine and Wanda Orlikowski and JoAnne Yates of the MIT Sloan School of Management coined the term “the autonomy paradox” to describe how greater flexibility for individuals has led to diminished freedom for everyone to switch off. In his latest book, “Slow Productivity”, Mr Newport advocates deliberately varying the intensity of work. First, following Mr Newport’s advice, you label the time as a “personal appointment”; never has a calendar entry looked more suspicious.