Why are breaks from work needed?

Work is demanding, and sustained mental effort can be exhausting. Without proper rest, this can lead to mental fatigue and a decline in performance.

Timely breaks between intense bouts of work can help stave off this fatigue, allowing you to return to your tasks refreshed and ready to produce high-quality work.

Our research indicates that the duration of your work blocks directly influences the amount of recovery time needed. It's a simple equation: shorter, intense work sessions call for shorter, more frequent, recovery periods, while longer work blocks require longer breaks.

However, neglecting to take sufficient breaks can lead to fatigue, a drop in performance, and a recovery process that might take longer than expected.

How does Pylot determine when a break is needed?

Pylot offers a suggested optimal work duration tailored to you. For instance, if it's determined to be 2 hours, this implies that you typically start to experience fatigue or decreased flow after this timeframe.

However, every day can be different. Perhaps you've had a string of intense work days followed by a restless night. In such cases, a 2-hour stretch might be too much.

To address this variability, Pylot provides real-time recommendations based on your current flow and fatigue levels. If your energy and focus align, Pylot will suggest engaging in deep work. However, if you're mentally fatigued, the recommendation will lean towards taking a break, regardless of the duration of your work stint.

More specifically, Pylot offers three real-time recommendations:

• Deep work: Recommended when your flow is high, and fatigue is low/mid

• Shallow tasks: Suggested when both flow and fatigue levels are low/mid

  
  

• Take a break: Recommended when fatigue is high, and flow is low/mid