Take. A. Break.

It's taken me a very, very long time to realize that the biggest secret to staying productive is... drumroll please... taking breaks. Yep, that's right. You want to do more? Make sure you actually do less. As in, stop working once in awhile. I promise, you'll be more productive -- and avoid burning out.

Last week I shared my love for the Pomodoro technique and how it's single-handedly made me more productive. Hands down, doing short, focused bursts of work has allowed me to laser focus on the task at hand. But it's also given me the greatest gift: built-in breaks.

I'm a rule follower. If I'm supposed to take a five-minute break, I take the five-minute break. If I'm supposed to take a longer break after a few Pomodoro cycles, then I'll do that, too. As a lawyer, I'm also literal. I don't interpret "break" to mean "email" or "different work." It's a real break from work. I get water or a snack, change over the laundry, or sometimes just get up and stretch.

For years, I did the exact opposite: I burnt the candle at both ends; I pushed myself to get in early and stay late; I ate at my desk; I never came up for air; I logged on after work; I worked weekends. The list goes on and on because I jammed in work wherever I could in a quest to do more and get more done.

It was all counter-productive.

My mind would inevitably wander and my stamina would waver, but I'd keep pushing myself. I'd be tired, but I'd keep going. I never gave myself a chance to actually "refresh" or "reset." I remember snapping back into focus after staring at the computer or the same research for awhile. But still, I'd think I was productive because I was "working." Was I though?

Now I focus on shorter periods of work followed by intentional periods of rest. I sprint to the finish line of my break because I've learned that back-to-back marathons simply aren't sustainable.

I never liked running much anyway.

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