i think overall we agree. let me address your points: 1) we are not discussing legal or contract breaks, but breaks that help productivity. in germany a legal

i think overall we agree. let me address your points: 1) we are not discussing legal or contract breaks, but breaks that help productivity. in germany a legal break is 15 minutes per 3 hours, and a single break must be at least 15 minutes to count as a break. so clearly, what counts as paid work has no bearing on breaks needed for productivity. breaks for chores and errands can't be avoided, whether they are stressful or not. however, when a family weekend trip is so exhausting that i can't focus on work on monday then this is something i need to take into consideration when planning my free time. and if i need 15 minutes of break for every 45 minutes of work while in the office then i have to be careful and may need to find a work related task that i can use to get that break effect, and hope that i don't have a micromanaging boss that doesn't allow that skunkworks project you mentioned. 2) of course. i fully agree with you here. it is all about the mental state. which means for each activity i have to consider how it will affect me. an activity that helps get a break for you could be adding more stress for me. it always depends. on some days grocery shopping actually does help me unwind and relax. on others it doesn't. that skunkworks project is also a good example. absolutely.