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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To take breaks when working from home?

34 replies

99r · 03/09/2024 17:12

My work is very intense and requires a lot of concentration, and I often spend several days working on one single document. The past couple of days I have been really struggling to concentrate and stay motivated, I have barely any meetings in my job and I barely have any admin or emails to reply to so I'm usually spending the full 7 hour workday staring at the same document. Our time is billable, and I have to log around 7 hours of billable time per day, so I feel guilty taking breaks but it is tedious.

I never had this issue in other (similar) jobs, as there were always meetings, admin and emails to give my brain a rest.

WIBU to take around 5 minutes every hour or so just to let my brain relax?

OP posts:
LoobyDoop2 · 03/09/2024 18:19

Who would even know? If you’re working alone on complex documents you presumably don’t have to ask permission to leave your desk?

CraftyOP · 03/09/2024 18:17

Not unreasonable, sometimes good to have a puzzle book on the go for a break

DarkForces · 03/09/2024 17:39

You need breaks to make the best use of your brain and rest your eyes. I use focus music to help my brain switch between tasks too

DrunkTinkerbell40s · 03/09/2024 17:38

If you're invoicing for an hour, I can't imagine anyone would begrudge you 5 mins of looking away from your screen!! How would they even know.
So do your day, 5 mins in each hour try and consciously stretch legs, look away from desk, make a cuppa. Take an unbilled lunch break.

Didimum · 03/09/2024 17:36

Employers are legally bound to protect their employees from the health risks of display screen equipment. While there is no legal guidance for that is, the government’s HSE recommends a 5-10 minute break every hour. There is no world in which you should be feeling guilty or shouldn’t follow this guidance.

mondaytosunday · 03/09/2024 17:35

Take half an hour for lunch then five minutes an hour to rest your eyes. That will make it an 8 hour day (guess you don't have to do the five minutes in the last hour). You stop the clock for those five minutes.

andjustlikethat1 · 03/09/2024 17:30

What industry are you in

Fahran · 03/09/2024 17:14

Stop the clock and take a break. What is there to feel guilty about?