My video guy (Evan) is young and resourceful – he recently taught me a valuable lesson about breaks in the workplace.

He and I are creating new customer service educational videos. This project is intense.

We are merging business and music concepts into the video’s instructional design – synchronizing the script and the piano routines can get complex and tiresome.  It’s tedious work.

Evan is an alert video professional who knows when the subject (me) isn’t giving his utmost.

He sensed my tiredness and thought that I needed a diversion from the curriculum. “Let’s take a break and do something more fun,” he advised. “Play something you really like.”

It only took me a second to start playing an old progressive rock tune.  It’s the introduction to Genesis’ song, Firth of Fifth, from their Selling England By The Pound album.

“I’ll record while you play,” Evan said.

Evan, my video guy

Breaks Increase Productivity

I played the song three times – exactly the same way each time and at the same tempo.  Evan recorded each performance from three different camera angles.

Then he quickly edited a 60-second video which captured the moment’s spontaneity.

Evan was right. Every now and then, when projects get tiresome, take a break and do something more fun.

Playing a lively piano piece put us back on track and boosted our productivity.

Another prime benefit of breaks is this allow us to take a step back to make sure we’re accomplishing what we want. When we work on a task continuously, it’s easy to lose focus and get lost in the weeds.

Lesson learned.  Breaks in the workplace pay big dividends. Thanks Evan.

Below is a colorful map of my upcoming travel plans. I’ll be driving from Philadelphia to many southbound destinations. Click on the image to see my calendar.