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3 Proven Strategies on Taking Breaks That Will Help You Become More Productive Working for long, uninterrupted hours, day after day, may make you feel productive, but, in reality, it's likely hurting your performance.

By Vanessa Van Edwards

This story appears in the October 2017 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

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Every busy entrepreneur knows you have to take breaks. And yet breaks often take a backseat to, you know, attending to the vast amount of work we have to do on a daily basis. But therein lies the paradox of breaks. Working for long, uninterrupted hours, day after day, may make you feel productive, but, in reality, it's likely hurting your performance.

Related: Why You Should Start Taking a Proper Lunch Break

The fact is: Breaks work. Studies show that people who take a breather approximately every hour perform better than those who work for several hours straight. Others have found that our brain activity actually increases when we let our minds wander. There are cognitive benefits to be had from taking breaks, and productivity gains to be seized. You just have to do it right. Here are three proven strategies for taking productive breaks.