Encourages short bursts of activity, taking time out (5)
I believe the answer is:
spurs
'encourages' is the definition.
(spurring is a kind of encouraging)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spurs that I've seen before include "incentives" , "soccer team" , "Gives encouragement to" , "Goads" , "One side of London" .)