The Wall Street Journal reports that you may be more effective by doing less.

Last spring, the Society for Human Resource Management surveyed more than 600 U.S. workers and found that 70 percent of respondents work beyond scheduled time and on weekends. More than 50 percent of the employees cited “self-imposed pressure” as the reason. Now, new data suggests some have reached the point where they have found that the only way to increase their productivity is to not work so much. A four-year study, set for publication in the October issue of Harvard Business Review, confirms that getting away from the job can yield unexpected on-the-job benefits. When members of a dozen consulting teams at Boston Consulting Group were each required to take a block of “predictable time off” each work week, “we had to practically force some professionals” to get away, notes Leslie Perlow, the Harvard Business School leadership professor who spearheaded the study. The results, however, surprised both Harvard researchers and Boston Consulting executives. Working together to make sure each staffer took some time off forced teams to communicate better and forge closer professional relationships. Together, they had to do better at planning ahead and streamlining work. In some cases, this even resulted in improved client service. Other organizations are now easing up on work strains in other ways. At KPMG, for instance, managers utilize “wellness scorecards” to track whether staff members are putting in too much overtime or delaying or even neglecting vacation time. Other groups are hiring “so-called “workflow coordinators” to review

We all know this. I know it mirrors my experience coming back from vacation and being highly productive. Chapter Five of my book No Yelling is Take Care of People. Making sure they are taking time is a way we do this.

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