💻 Dev Health Hack #7: Why Your Breaks Aren’t Breaks (Blame the Screen 😅)

Hey dev friends 👋

Let’s talk about something I’ve always been bad at… taking real breaks.
You know, the kind where you step away from all screens. No scrolling, no notifications, just you and the real world 🌱

I’ll admit it — I’m a screen addict.
Even when I stand up to stretch, I usually end up grabbing a Coke Zero, checking my phone, and scrolling through something. You could say my breaks are just smaller screens 😅.

But a few months ago, I started tracking my breaks and movement with the Standing Coder app (yes, the one I made). And wow, I started to notice patterns in how little I was actually resting.

So I made some small changes:

• ⏱ The 45/5 rule → 45 minutes of focused work, followed by 5 minutes completely away from any screen. (To be honest, this will be challenging for me 😅)

• 👀 The 20-20-20 rule → Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

• 📱 Standing reminders from the app → Every 45 minutes, a little buzz nudges me to move.

At first, it was just a few more walks to the kitchen (mostly for Coke Zero or an energy drink 😂). But slowly, it turned into actual movement. Walking down the stairs. Taking more breaks. And not using the car for short trips.

And you know what? My numbers in the Standing Coder app are getting better week by week. I’m not suddenly an athlete, but I do move more. And I feel the difference in my posture, focus, and mental energy.

And here, for the first time, we have a sponsor for this edition of the newsletter.

With the summer vacation coming up here in the Netherlands, I’m setting some simple goals:

• 🚶 Walk more, drive less

• 📵 Reduce screen time outside work

• 📚 Read an actual book (got a good one? Send it my way!)

• 🏃‍♂️ Maybe even start running again (no promises, but the thought’s there…)

Starting next week, I’ll share my weekly movement update in this newsletter:

• Daily step counts

• Breaks I took vs. skipped

• Standing streaks

• One highlight moment from the week

And no worries — it’s not going to be a fitness blog. Just one dev trying to code a bit healthier and take breaks that actually help. 😉

So here’s your challenge for today:

• Take one offscreen break. Just 60 seconds.

• Look out the window. Stretch. Pet your dog. Read a few paragraphs of your favorite book. Or just breathe.

• Your body — and your code — will thank you.

Catch you next week!

Ray 💻🚶‍♂️

P.S. The app is free to download → Standing Coder in the App Store
P.P.S. I’m serious about the book recs — fiction, non-fiction, weird AI thrillers, anything. Hit reply 👇