Poll: Do you schedule time for breaks during work?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Oct 22, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you schedule time for breaks during work?".

View the poll results »



 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 23:27
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Other Oct 22, 2017

This option is not available.

I take them whenever I choose to or feel like it.

To Proz.com staff:

It seems that Anonymous is enjoying a winning streak with polls recently. If I were to go to Las Vegas with the cards heavily stacked in my favor like this, I'd be stinking rich and wouldn't have to translate any more.

There has not been a poll posted since September 27th by a human - that's 27, yes, a whopping 27 polls on the trot - who ha
... See more
This option is not available.

I take them whenever I choose to or feel like it.

To Proz.com staff:

It seems that Anonymous is enjoying a winning streak with polls recently. If I were to go to Las Vegas with the cards heavily stacked in my favor like this, I'd be stinking rich and wouldn't have to translate any more.

There has not been a poll posted since September 27th by a human - that's 27, yes, a whopping 27 polls on the trot - who has been willing to put his/her name to a poll as its author.
Either you people have been smoking too much funny stuff and decided to force this upon us or you have lost the keys to the poll server and cannot access what must be a juicy backlog of bona fide poll questions.

Can't we have polls created by someone who actually exists instead of hit-and-run questions posted by You-Know-Who or He/she-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

Yours sincerely

Julian Holmes
@See, it's very easy to put your own name to something
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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
Er.... no Oct 22, 2017

I know we are supposed to take regular breaks every twenty minutes and do eye exercises or stretching or whatever, but in the real world, well mine anyway, it's very difficult to stick to things like that. In my usual routine, I might spend an hour faffing about before actually starting real work in the morning. This involves checking my email to see if any new messages have come in, then a quick look at Proz, a couple of online newspapers, then FB before actually getting started.
The amo
... See more
I know we are supposed to take regular breaks every twenty minutes and do eye exercises or stretching or whatever, but in the real world, well mine anyway, it's very difficult to stick to things like that. In my usual routine, I might spend an hour faffing about before actually starting real work in the morning. This involves checking my email to see if any new messages have come in, then a quick look at Proz, a couple of online newspapers, then FB before actually getting started.
The amount of breaks I then take while working may depend on how interesting/boring I find the content, which can sometimes be a slog. Or the chores needing done, for example in winter this involves cleaning out the fireplace and preparing the wood-burning fire for the evening.
I tend to stop for lunch around Spanish lunchtime, which is roughly 2-4 pm. I usually have a short siesta after that and start back working again around five. Between 5 PM and 9 PM, I might stop and do some chores in the garden or about the house, or go for a short spin on my bike, but I don't have a set schedule for any of these activities, I just do them whenever the fancy takes me.
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:27
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not really! Oct 22, 2017

I don’t schedule time, but I do take a break every time I can’t seem to find a solution for a sentence. It usually helps if I try to occupy my mind with something different, away from the computer.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:27
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
No Oct 22, 2017

I let my distractions dictate my breaks--for example, in order of importance:
1. Dog wants out or is hungry.
2. Interesting e-mail comes in and I can't resist looking at it.
3. Phone rings and it's a caller I want to speak to.
4. I'm hungry.
5. I'm stuck on how unscramble a piece of translation.


[Edited at 2017-10-22 10:18 GMT]


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:27
French to English
ditto Oct 22, 2017

Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:

I let my distractions dictate my breaks--for example, in order of importance:
1. Dog wants out or is hungry.
2. Interesting e-mail comes in and I can't resist looking at it.
3. Phone rings and it's a caller I want to speak to.
4. I'm hungry.
5. I'm stuck on how unscramble a piece of translation.


[Edited at 2017-10-22 10:18 GMT]

except for me it's a cat not a dog, and I also have other people around who distract me. I work at the kitchen table so can't avoid the distraction, but I actually like people being around. I bore them stiff moaning about my work, but I'll listen to their problems too. It makes up for not having colleagues, which is the worst thing for me about free-lancing


 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 15:27
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Yes, loosely Oct 22, 2017

I try to stretch my legs once an hour

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2006)
German to English
Julian Oct 22, 2017

Julian Holmes wrote:

This option is not available.

I take them whenever I choose to or feel like it.

To Proz.com staff:

It seems that Anonymous is enjoying a winning streak with polls recently. If I were to go to Las Vegas with the cards heavily stacked in my favor like this, I'd be stinking rich and wouldn't have to translate any more.

There has not been a poll posted since September 27th by a human - that's 27, yes, a whopping 27 polls on the trot - who has been willing to put his/her name to a poll as its author.
Either you people have been smoking too much funny stuff and decided to force this upon us or you have lost the keys to the poll server and cannot access what must be a juicy backlog of bona fide poll questions.

Can't we have polls created by someone who actually exists instead of hit-and-run questions posted by You-Know-Who or He/she-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

Yours sincerely

Julian Holmes
@See, it's very easy to put your own name to something


You took the words out of my mouth!


 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:27
French to English
Not really Oct 22, 2017

Breaks are for wimps!

 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:27
English to Spanish
+ ...
I took a break to answer this poll Oct 22, 2017

…but I never know when I'll do it ahead of time. I just roll with the punches, go with the flow.

Seriously, you have to have an acute case of OCD to feel the need to schedule your breaks.



 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:27
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
No Oct 23, 2017

Scheduling breaks a forehand is (usually) a waste of valuable time. I take them either when an opportunity arises, or when my eyes (or my brain) tell me it's time to take one.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:27
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Irregularly Oct 23, 2017

I hardly ever sit in front of the computer for more than an hour without a little break. Although it's not a scheduled thing, I do take several breaks during the day. And I'm really surprised and sorry for those who don't, as they are absolutely essential.

 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:27
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Lunch, yes Jan 19, 2018

I never used to. I'd let "end of project", "end of section" or "head is spinning" dictate breaks instead.

Since I married, we coordinate our lunch breaks. And if OH is driving home from work to share lunch, I will clock off for that half hour bang on schedule.


 


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Poll: Do you schedule time for breaks during work?






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