It feels to me there is a common misconception that more time spent working equals greater output. I won’t say this isn’t true, as in many industries this is correct, knitting is a prime example of this (yes I did just say that).

In an industry such as web development, especially when working with any reasonablely sized codebase, and as a result, requiring the developer to use a significant portion of their mental capacity to merely understand the code. The process of implementing new ideas without breaking what already exists can be as tiring, if not more so that strenuous physical labour.

The reason for this is that the brain is a muscle, and as such using it will use up energy and the harder you work it the more energy you use.

This idea has some strong proponents, the Pomodoro technique for example advocates that having a regular 5 min break every 25 minutes, then then a longer break every 4 Pomodoro’s (or 2hrs).

This has always felt like overkill to me and I find such regular breaks to be annoying more that helpful.

However on the other side fo the coin is working continuously throughout the day with a break only for lunch. I am able to achieve this output, for a limited period of time. The main drivers being enjoyment of the work being performed, however if this level of effort is extended over any reasonable period, then the enjoyment quickly evaporates and as a result productivity quickly drops.

For this reason, I would advocate to everyone, that no matter what the culture of the company, or your personal preference, that taking regular breaks will ultimately result in increased long-term output.