Guest Post

Does your boss frown on taking coffee breaks? Perhaps he thinks that you are not working hard enough. Your boss might be surprised to know that taking a coffee break can help you be more effective in business. Here are four ways in which you can benefit from the daily coffee break.

1. Break Up Those Biorhythms

During the workday most people experience a mental slump, sometimes two. In part this is because of biorhythms. For many people 10 AM and 2 PM are times when mental acuity starts to flag.

Taking a coffee break is one way to address this. Not only does this get away from your desk (a little exercise gets the blood flowing around your body, including to your brain) but drinking coffee will make you a little sharper because it’s a stimulant.

2. Activate Your Subconscious

Sometimes focusing on a problem too hard can actually get in the way of solving it. You’re so busy working out all the parameters that you forget that your brain as a tool that is designed to do that all in the background while you think about something else. I’m talking about your subconscious.

Taking a coffee break lets your front brain concentrate on other things while your subconscious sorts out the issue that you’ve been working on. That’s part of the reason why people get great ideas in the shower.

If you’re figuring out how to run a meeting, who to invite, how to get that important sale or land a key client, some of your best ideas are likely to come when you’re a bit more relaxed. So get away from your desk, clear your mind and head for the coffee machine. You’ll be glad you did!

3. Get Some Inspiration

Is it any coincidence that so many writers and artists seem to live on coffee? Drinking caffeine appears to go hand-in-hand with artistic inspiration. And some artists, such as Cathy Read, have used coffee to inspire abstract art around the coffee drinking experience.

Speaking physiologically, there may be something to the notion that coffee fuels creative endeavor. The caffeine it contains is a stimulant that helps with mental alertness, energy and endurance (useful for those creative brainstorming all-nighters).

4. Networking

Just the same way that people gather around the water cooler, they can also gather round the coffee machine. It’s a chance to discuss common areas of interest in a more relaxed setting or to use social banter to cement existing and growing business relationships.

Believe it or not, a mid-morning coffee break can be the start of creating strong connections within your business, so don’t ignore its potential.

As you can see, the humble coffee break has many business uses. And there’s more — you can also use a coffee meeting as a way to have a tight, focused interaction with business prospects.

This post is by Sharon Hurley Hall. Sharon writes for Eden Springs,  the UK’s No.1 water cooler supplier, who now supply office coffee machines.