How can you take breaks at work when you have limited time?

Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index reports 80% of global workers said they do not have enough time or energy to do their work, especially with constant interruptions, so taking breaks during the day can seem nearly impossible.

Fast Company shares the following ways to take breaks even when you think you do not have time.

1. Turn dead time into connection time. Use the time between the start of a meeting and waiting for people to join the meeting as an opportunity to recover instead of fitting in one more email. During the meeting’s opening minutes, focus on social interaction by asking a question such as, “What is one thing going well for you this week?” or “What is something that made you laugh recently?”
2. Reset your nervous system. When the workday gets busy, our bodies react by typing quickly or speaking with urgency, which signals a “threat” to the brain and prompts the nervous system to enter a fight-or-flight state. Take a moment to drop your shoulders and breathe only through your nose for 60-90 seconds, inhaling for 5 seconds and exhaling for 5 seconds.
3. Let yourself focus. It may seem efficient when you are multitasking by drafting an email during a meeting, but our brains cannot process two things at once. Research shows even working with a smartphone in the room that is turned off reduces our available cognitive capacity. Instead of bringing your phone or computer to your next meeting, just bring pen and paper and see how your attention and energy shift.
4. Clear your brain, then let it wander. Turning off your brain can be difficult after a tense meeting or when you have a list of unfinished tasks. Neuroscience shows our best problem-solving and creative thinking can happen when we step away. It also helps to spend a couple of minutes writing down unfinished tasks or what is on your mind. If you can, take a walk and let your mind wander.
5. Align to what you need. Research shows short pauses boost energy and reduce fatigue, but the type of break matters. Some activities, such as scrolling on social media, can be draining instead of restorative. Before you take a break, evaluate why you need a break and choose the type of break that matches what you need.