Taking breaks in grad school is essential, but it can also be challenging. You may know that you can’t just work 24 hours a day, every day, but you can often still feel like you should. You may know that your body needs rest and your mind needs recharging, but fitting that into your schedule can feel impossible. You may know that burying yourself in work to avoid thinking about stressful things isn’t a long-term solution, but it’s pretty appealing right now. 

“Taking a break” doesn’t have to take a long time. While we should all do our best to take extended, vacation-length breaks from time to time, we shouldn’t put off rest until then. Try to carve out and claim time regularly and at a variety of scales. Here are some tips and strategies for making the most of a break, however long it is. 

5 minutes

Sometimes you have a hectic day. A deadline is screeching toward you at full speed. You feel pulled in more directions than you have limbs. The world around you feels stressful and uncertain. On those days, you might only be able to manage 5 minutes away from work. It’s not much, but it’s still worth taking. Even a short break can help you take a breath, reset, and avoid stretching your mind too thin. But what to do in those 5 minutes? Here are some ideas:

• Take Some Deep Breaths: Pausing to breathe deeply can help you find calm and build mindfulness, as in this 3-minute breathing space practice. 

• Look Out the Window: Not only can a bit of staring help you reconnect with a broader world than your work, but it can also help you avoid eye strain that can come from too much time looking at a screen. 

• Don’t Pick Up Your Phone: If you are feeling stressed and unsettled about the world or your future, don’t spend your precious break time doomscrolling.

1 hour

Graduate students’ days are often kind of fragmented. You have a class to attend, a committee to meet with, some research to do, and an errand to run—all scattered throughout the day. That can be enervating (so much shifting gears), but it can also open opportunities for strategic breaks. Take advantage of the gaps between your obligations and do something other than stare listlessly at a screen.  Here are some ideas:

• Get (a Little Bit) Lost in a Park: Relentless focus on work can make it feel like everything needs to be controlled and managed. Aimlessly wandering can be an antidote to that kind of stress. 

• Listen to a Story: Immersing yourself in a story told by someone else can engage your brain in a different way, letting you escape and explore with the help of a narrator. Give it a try with a short story podcast.

1+ Day

Longer breaks are important, too. Try to organize your time to allow for regular, full-day-or-two breaks that can let you more fully walk away from your work and recharge. Here are some ideas:

• Immerse Yourself in a Craft Project: Making things that have nothing to do with your normal work or the demands of the rest of your life can feel both productive and freeing. If you’re in Champaign-Urbana, you can check out craft supplies from the library.

• Cook Something Elaborate: Dedicate your day to making something complicated and delicious. You could start with a trip to a farmer’s market then see what you can make with what you find. Or find a recipe you’ve always wanted to make and see it through. 

• Serve Others and Help Yourself: If you are feeling disconnected from your communities or stuck in the hyper-narrow-ness of your academic work, seek out opportunities to make an immediate, positive impact on others through volunteering. Not all of your breaks need to be “working breaks”—definitely make time to just sit on the grass and do nothing—but using your skills to help others can help you refresh and recharge.

Derek Attig is the Assistant Dean of Career Development & Professional Development for the Graduate College. After earning a PhD in History here at Illinois, Derek worked in nonprofit communications and instructional development before joining the Career Development team. A devotee of libraries and all things peculiar, Derek is currently writing a book about bookmobiles.