There’s not much more miserable than burned out professionals. Their motivation is severely lacking and their attitude is even worse. They seem to go through the motions with no particular interest in providing for their clients. However, I don’t think they want to be this way—not part of the career plan. They just didn’t take a break.

This point was brought to my attention by one of your colleagues who responded to an earlier message I wrote about what you learned last year (read blog “Let’s Review). He emailed me what he learned about facing his energy limitations (thanks, K). He’s a seasoned professional who understands that the demands of his job require him to build into his schedule time to catch his breath.

He wrote, “The more responsibility, the more we need to take a day here and there to re-energize.” He knows that you can only push yourself so long before you burn out, all because you refused to acknowledge your need to recharge.

If you want to prevent being a toasted professional, there are a few things you can do to maintain your energy. First, activate your motivational core by linking your work to get you what you want: recognition, a promotion, increase in salary or bonus, etc. If you have a “why” that is worth pursuing, you will be energized from within.

Second, make yourself take time (a whole day?) for non-work activity and rest. Some people think resting on the seventh day is a religious thing. That it is; but it’s also a human thing. Your body and your mind need time away from work to be refreshed.

Third, in your daily routine, break your day into hour and a half segments. Research has shown that your concentration wanes after that time, which is when you make your mistakes. Take a five minute break after every 90 minutes or so. Get up out of your chair, get some coffee or water, and get your mind on something other than what’s on your desk. If you do that, in just a few minutes your brain reorders itself and you can get back into your work with motivation and concentration.

These three disciplines are yours to follow. If you do, you’ll fare much better. If not, you’ll be like the old, burned out professional you promised yourself you’d never be.