[petrichor]

i think his post is actually in agreement with your comment. his point being that things like: reading HN, updating twitter, deleting email, etc is not really "taking a break". it is distracting yourself for a piece of instant gratification.

a real break is taking a walk, or "looking away" as you say; getting away from the screen.

[jason_shah]

right. to expand, i feel like these are "weak breaks". we don't have the will or self-control (or perhaps, we are SO deeply passionate about our work) to be OK with taking a real break. so instead we have to do things that make us still feel like we're being productive just so we can feel justified.

for example, reading HN makes me feel like i'm taking a productive break. i'm learning about startups, keeping up with tech news, etc. but in truth, this sort of break rarely achieves the intended goal of a "strong break" (e.g. taking a walk): allowing me to recharge.

thanks for the comments! my first HN post with discussion.