In our amped up, go-fast society, most advice for career success ultimately comes down to “work harder” and “be more motivated.” Those sorts of notions have their place – you can’t get far sitting on the couch all day. But there’s a limit, at which point the exact opposite is true.

And at that point, being more successful means maybe considering taking a step back and working less. Yeah, that’s tough for a lot of people to get their brain around. But it really works. It’s been proven for years. Here’s why.

You stay well rounded
By stepping away from your job search and career plans, you allow yourself the mental space and free time to pursue other interests. That’s almost sure to make you a better-rounded, more interesting person. And at the same time you see other perspectives. It makes you more versatile, more flexible in how you solve problems. And that’s always valued by employers.

You pace yourself
A job search is a marathon attached to a mountain climb that ends in a triathlon. Even the most highly conditioned sprinters drop off before the halfway point. So do yourself a favor. Become a long hauler by taking a little time to rebuild your overtaxed brain and get refreshed. You’ll need it. Sure, at first you’ll feel like you’re slacking off. But then after five months you’ll notice that you’re still going strong while your hotblood office pals are pooping out and settling for sideways moves.

Your mind is relaxed and free
By giving your brain some operating space, you let it relax and loosen up. That makes you sharper for interviews and networking meetings – you don’t have so much the look of desperation. And when you’re relaxed, you send out an easygoing vibe that people enjoy being around more – always a good thing when you’re looking to be brought onto any team.

You experience more, which lets you get more ideas
By taking time out as you go, you can look up and see things that will inspire you – things that people who endlessly bury their heads in laptop screens will miss. This awareness helps foster new ideas and facilitates striking new combinations of existing concepts. And that’s a terrific thing to bring to a potential employer.

Your priorities become more refined
Finally, perhaps the best reason to step back from your job search a little bit is that it forces you to be more demanding of your priorities. When you take some time to regain your senses, you come back to your job search with less tolerance for the ineffective longshots and the crackpot networking ideas you had to begin with. You suddenly want to spend your time only on the stuff that will work. And that’s exactly where you should be investing you efforts.

Also See :

Job Search - The Job Search Seasons.  How to use them to your advantage.