The pause becomes useful when it changes what you notice next.

Stopping is only half of a break. A pause spent replaying the same worry leaves you where you started, rested slightly and no clearer, because rest without a shift in attention is just an interruption. What makes the difference is coming back looking at something you were not looking at before: a different question, a wider frame, the thing you had been avoiding. Otherwise the pause simply delays the same motion.

After your next break, write one sentence about what looks different now. If nothing does, take a walk and ask a question you have been putting off.