How to epically be productive over the long term and not burnout

Have you heard of the two lumberjacks' story?

Well, my friend, if you have not, here's the tale for you:

The story centers around two leprechaun lumberjacks - both of equal size mass and ability cut wood for a living.

One lumberjack - named Lumber, would work day in day out, 8 hours a day, non-stop.

The second lumberjack - named Jack, would work for 4 hours, take a 1 hour break, and return to do the remaining 4 hours he's paid to do.

Now, my man Jack would always be the one who manages to cut down more trees each and every day (deforestation, yikes) - and Lumber, however hardworking, would just not be able to work at the same capacity as Jack.

So one day, my dude Lumber asked my man Jack: 'Hey Jack, we work the same amount each day, how the heckity doo (leprechaun slang) are you cutting more wood than me? Where the heckity doo do you go during that 1 hour each day?'

And my man Jack, ever wise, stroked his non-existent beard, sat himself on a freshly cut log (poor log), and said:

'Lumber, my dude, during the hour, I sharpen my axe.'

Lumber was shocked beyond woods (words - stretched pun, will come up with a better one next time). And Lumber was never the same leprechaun again.

Point is - you got to try and give yourself the time to pause and sharpen your axe.

With that being said - doing this in the long run will probably prevent a burnout as well - after all, your axe can only get blunder with each cut into the wood. (Again, yikes for trees)

Take this in a non-theoretical context: If you feel tired and unmotivated, sometimes, you just got to accept that you aren't going to get about much that day and really allow yourself to relax. Doing so would allow you to come back stronger and give whatever task that comes up more energy and vigor - in the long run, it'll give you a significantly better overall product of whatever you've been working towards.

Take a break, sharpen your axe.

Writer's Note: Welcome to the first installment of 'Funsies'! - where I talk about things beyond the finance world and make things more fun and informal, while still making the articles of value to you! Look forward to more of 'Funsies' in the future! Subscribe to get notified when there's a new post.

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