A very insightful quotation from St. Gregory of Sinai:
In my opinion, those who do not psalmodize much act rightly, for it means that they esteem moderation - and according to the sages moderation is best in all things. In this way they do not expend all the energy of their soul in ascetic labor, thus making the intellect negligent and slack where prayer is concerned. On the contrary, by devoting but little time to psalmodizing, they can give most of their time to prayer. On the other hand, when the intellect is exhausted by continuous noetic invocation and intense concentration, it can be given some rest by releasing it from the straightness of silent prayer and allowing it to relax in the amplitude of psalmody. This is an excellent rule, taught by the wisest men.
The Philokalia, Vol. IV
As the monks take time to chant the psalms, so, too, must regular people take breaks in their life in order to not slack when it comes to prayer.
We become intellectually negligent if we do not achieve adequate rest, and so it should always be our goal to achieve a proper balance so we can be at our best.
The trick is to figure out how to balance it perfectly. This is something that will be a daily struggle for most of us.
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