In this episode of the ‘Retrospective’ podcast, we discuss the importance of taking breaks of various lengths to maintain energy, resilience, and mental health. We explain the concepts of macro breaks (e.g., vacations), meso breaks (e.g., long lunches, proper day-closing rituals), and micro breaks (e.g., standing up, brief stretches). We share actionable tips on planning and executing these breaks, emphasizing the need to disconnect truly during vacations, the benefits of time-blocking in your calendar, and using tools like Pomodoro for maximizing productivity. The episode also touches on the physical and mental health benefits of these practices and briefly mentions team-based breaks.

Timeline

00:00 Introduction

00:30 The Importance of Taking Breaks

01:16 Burnout in Middle Management

03:42 Types of Breaks: Macro, Meso, and Micro

05:11 Planning and Executing Effective Vacations

11:14 Incorporating Meso Breaks into Your Day

18:57 The Power of Micro Breaks

27:01 Conclusion and Season Wrap-Up

Links from the episode

• Engineering Managers at risk of burnout in The Pragmatic Engineer and Fortune.
• Study: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance.
• Study: Does the 52-17 rule really hold up?

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In this episode, we explore a challenge that plagues every engineering team: the constant stream of interruptions that disrupt our workflows. Drawing from our combined experiences working with dozens of engineering teams, we introduce the concept of the “firefighter” role - a structured approach to managing unplanned work that’s transformed how teams handle interruptions.

We dive into the science behind context switching, examine why solutions often fail, and explore a practical framework that turns interruptions from productivity killers into opportunities for systematic improvement.

Key topics we cover:

• The true cost of context switching in engineering teams
• Why common interrupt-handling approaches break down
• How to implement and rotate the firefighter role
• Turning interruptions into systematic improvements
• Measuring success and avoiding common pitfalls

Show Notes:

How engineering teams handle unplanned work - this article captured my thoughts exactly and includes some really good visualisations of the different approaches.

The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress - UC Irvine study

And a FastCompany article about the study.

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In this episode, we discuss the topic of technical dept. We start with the basic definition, then share techniques about measuring, arguing about and addressing tech debt. A key concept is connecting the issues of technical dept to business goals, to show the concrete pain it causes to organizations. We also discuss prioritization tips and various good and bad examples we saw in our experience.

Share your thoughts about the episode (and the podcast) at feedback@the-retrospective.com!