Just tell your boss your Facebook updates increases your productivity

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Anyone ever hear of Frank Gilbreth? He was a brilliant engineer who devoted his life to increasing worker efficiency by the study of time and motion. One of his ideas was to add a surgical tech to the operating room. Prior to this docs had to waste valuable anethesia time by finding their own instruments. He was truly ahead of his time and the subject of a wonderful book, Cheaper By the Dozen. No, not the horrible Dennis Quaid movie. That movie is a crime against humanity.

Anyway, he invented therbligs, which is a system to increase efficiency by avoiding waste motion. The last therblig is call Rest to overcome Fatigue. According to Gilbreth breaks were essential and necessary for worker safety and efficiency, and five minute breaks every hour was the ideal.

I know it works for me. If I can just get a couple of minutes, it doesn't even need to be five, to kick back, I do so much better the next hour. I usually spend it checking CNN or something similar. It might look like I'm wasting time, but I'm recharging my physical and mental batteries. Hey, if it's evidenced based, they can't argue with that, can they?

You guys do the same? And if you do, how do you usually spend those couple of minutes?

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Going to the bathroom... or filing papers. Seriously filing papers is something I find very relaxing. Possibly because I used to work in accounting. But seriously a room full of papers and binders to stuff them in is my zen garden.

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Specializes in multispecialty ICU, SICU including CV.

This is lame, but I walk to the break room. Get a 1/2 cup of coffee. Drink it on my way back to doing something productive. Next hour, walk to the break room. Get the 1/2 cup of coffee. Drink it on my way back to my patient's room. And on, and on. The two minutes I spend walking 50 feet, filling my coffee cup, and drinking it is my mini-break. I probably do this 8-10 times on a 12 hour shift.

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I am ashamed to admit it, but I...... FARMVILLE!!!! I love my dumb little farm with my pigs, chickens, and sheep. Since I can't live on one in real life, I'll take what I can get. :w00t:

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

I do the stairs on my break. Exercise and escape.

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilites,.

My fav is to grab a trashy magazine and a hot cup of tea. If I can put my feet up for a minute then I am in heaven.

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Specializes in Psych.

I'm in a locked psych unit, so the unit is constantly buzzing and loud. I find my couple of minutes of peace by going into the kitchen that is staff only, and take a sip of tea and just stare into space. Those couple minutes helps my brain and muscles to loosen up.

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Specializes in MS, LTC, Post Op.

Hide in the bathroom...

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I get myself a drink: Iced Tea, Sprite, Orange soda, something... and I like to look at Youtube videos! Especially of cute furry things, like bunnies and such...

and if I have some extra minutes -- eat soup (with or without crackers) :) -- fills me up for a while.

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I thought Steve Martin was in Cheaper by the Dozen... :clown:

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Specializes in PACU, OR.

I work in a theater, so it's a lot different from the wards.... Our employer doesn't approve of us taking down time outside of regular breaks, but my belief (and thankfully that of our unit manager) is, "hey, it gets hectic enough when we're busy, so if it's quiet and there's no preparation or admin to do, kick back and relax!" The best teams are formed in the tearooms..... In fact, I think we should change the name to Team Room!

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I thought Steve Martin was in Cheaper by the Dozen... :clown:

Oh, gosh, you're right. What was I thinking.

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