In many cultures, life stops a few times a day for tea. You might have a morning tea break, lunch, an afternoon tea break, dinner, after-supper tea, and a cup before bed. Or perhaps there’s just an extended afternoon siesta or break that involves sitting around with friends, chatting over a cup. The exact time and nature of the tea break differs depending on culture and context, but nonetheless, it’s a widespread tradition – and one we love!

In the English tea tradition, you stop at about 4pm for a cuppa. Unfortunately, in today’s busy environment, taking an hour or two at 4pm is not only discouraged, it’s likely downright impossible – 4pm is right about when most people are scrambling to finish up for the day, tie up loose ends, and head home.

Instead of adding one more thing you HAVE to do at the end of the day, we here at Tea Noir are proposing a tweak: the Tea Time Out.

You might not be able to take an hour for tea and crumpets at the end of the day, but you can get up, stretch, and head to the break room to make a nice cuppa before settling in for the remainder of the day. Get back to your desk, crack your neck, inhale the aroma of your tea, and look at something totally unrelated to work for the first few sips – a funny animal picture, a cool article, a neat video. Maybe it’ll engage your brain in some way; maybe it’ll let you turn your brain off for a few minutes before diving back in. Just relax for a couple minutes and indulge in a nice drink and a brain break.

Every weekday at around 3pm, Tea Noir will bring you a Time Out – a little encouragement to stop, steep, sip, and stretch. 3pm is a great time in most people’s workdays for this – you’ve been working consistently since lunch, you need a little stretch, and you’re closing in on the home stretch. We might post a silly LoLcat or a short video, an affirmational something-or-another, a neat article we’ve stumbled across – you never know. But rest assured it’ll be something different from the rest of your day!

Take 15 minutes to take care of yourself. You’ll feel better, work better, and generally enjoy life more, at least for a couple minutes. You’re worth it!