MakeSomeBreak is powered by Los Angeles-based Microsoft product specialist, Virto Software.
Founded in 2009, Virto is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for ISV solutions and Microsoft Dynamics. The company serves 5000+ clients worldwide, delivering 50+ SharePoint components, web parts, and integrations for Microsoft 365 apps. MakeSomeBreak is a purpose-built app for Microsoft Teams, launched by Virto in July 2021.
MakeSomeBreak acts as an integration for your Microsoft Teams calendar. It analyses your schedule on Teams as well as other Microsoft products like Outlook. Based on this data, it recommends timely breaks and interventions for better work-life balance. MakeSomeBreak is the latest addition to Virto’s family of Teams apps – which also includes a Kanban board and a calendar. You can also leverage Virto’s solutions to increase your productivity in SharePoint.
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Let us review MakeSomeBreak by Virto in detail.
Inside MakeSomeBreak by Virto for Microsoft Teams
You can download the MakeSomeBreak directly from the application store, accessible from the left navigation pane of your Microsoft Teams window. You can also add MakeSomeBreak as a channel tab and a calendar extension. Once this is in place, you will need to open the Microsoft Teams calendar and add MakeSomeBreak as a calendar app so that it can access your calendar information for analysis.
The key features of MakeSomeBreak include:
- Calendar analysis and intervention – The primary job of MakeSomeBreak is to analyse your calendar and recommend when you might need to take a break. To do this, MakeSomeBreak studies your calendar schedule and looks for prolonged blocks of time when you have back-to-back meetings or events. For example, if you have three hours of back-to-back meetings in the second half, it will block your calendar for a slated period afterwards so that you cannot add more meetings to your already overburdened day.
- Manual break configuration – You can also choose to plan your breaks. That way, your calendar remains blocked during the appropriate times, and you will appear “unavailable” if anyone wants to schedule a meeting that conflicts with your slated break periods. This feature is handy when you anticipate a busy week or month coming your way, and want to stay mindful of your mental well-being.
- Meeting length configuration for breaks – This feature allows you to determine the duration of meeting hours after which you should take a break. For instance, you might want to take a 10-minute breather after every 1-hour meeting. You can also specify blocks of time (e.g., continuous meetings for one and a half hours), after which you should take a break.
- The ability to set break length – You can set up the MakeSomeBreak app to schedule break periods of a predetermined duration. This means that when you plan your meeting and break schedule in advance, all bread will last for the same consistent length of time – as per your unique productivity patterns and mental health requirements.
- Meeting exceptions – This is a crucial feature when you are scheduling breaks in bulk. You can define a keyword that will be used as an exception, and all meetings/events containing that keyword will be exempt from calendar analysis. For instance, if you have “live events” or “lunch meetings” scheduled in your calendar, you may not want to apply the same break rules as you would to regular meetings.
- Advanced automation capabilities – It is possible to almost entirely automate MakeSomeBreak’s functionality. However, you would have to upgrade to the paid version of the app to access this feature. By default, MakeSomeBreak is available on Microsoft AppSource for free. However, you can email Virto at [email protected] to start automating your breaks as per fixed business rules.
Why the MakeSomeBreak App Makes a Difference
At a time when most of us are facing some form of Zoom fatigue, it is essential to proactively plan for breaks. The MakeSomeBreak app formalises this process and detects meeting patterns that might hinder your physical or mental well-being. Thanks to automation, you can weave breaks directly into your calendar. This means that your colleagues and other stakeholders must plan around these designated break periods, mindful of your mental well-being and productivity needs.
What We Think
MakeSomeBreak is rated 5/5 on Microsoft AppSource for a reason – users appreciate its “simple but useful” functionality and the fact that it is available for free help.
Download it here.
