Learn Hardcore Greek: Για να κρατήσω το μυαλό μου καθαρό, θα έπρεπε να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα. - To keep my mind clear, I should take small breaks more often.

κρατήσω (aorist subjunctive) focuses on the result as a whole: to keep (achieve and maintain that state).
κρατάω (present) focuses on the ongoing process: to be keeping.

With για να, when you talk about achieving a result or maintaining a state, the aorist subjunctive is normal:

Για να κρατήσω το μυαλό μου καθαρό – To keep my mind clear (achieve/maintain clarity as a result)
Για να κρατάω το μυαλό μου καθαρό is possible, but sounds more like focusing on the continuous effort itself. The aorist feels more natural here.

Why do we say το μυαλό μου and not just μυαλό μου?

In standard Greek, body parts, mind, etc. usually take the definite article:

το χέρι μου – my hand
τα μάτια μου – my eyes
το μυαλό μου – my mind

Leaving the article out (μυαλό μου) is possible in some expressive or poetic contexts, but in neutral, everyday speech you almost always include it. So το μυαλό μου is the normal form.

Where does μου go, and could it be in another place in the sentence?

μου is a weak possessive pronoun that usually follows the noun it belongs to:

το μυαλό μου – my mind

You cannot normally move μου away from μυαλό. Phrases like μου το μυαλό or το μου μυαλό are ungrammatical.

The natural position is noun + μου:

η μητέρα μου – my mother
το σπίτι μου – my house
το μυαλό μου – my mind

What exactly does θα έπρεπε mean here? Is it just I should?

θα έπρεπε is a conditional/soft past of πρέπει (must). It usually corresponds to:

I should, I ought to, I should really

In this sentence:

θα έπρεπε να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα
≈ I should take small breaks more often (idea of advice, or something that would be good but maybe I’m not doing it enough).

It’s milder and more hypothetical than simple πρέπει:

Πρέπει να κάνω… – I must / I have to do…
Θα έπρεπε να κάνω… – I should / I ought to do… (but I may not be doing it)

What is the difference between έπρεπε να κάνω and θα έπρεπε να κάνω?

Έπρεπε να κάνω = I had to / I should have (in the past; a real obligation):
- Έπρεπε να κάνω μικρά διαλείμματα – I had to / I should have taken small breaks (but maybe I didn’t).
Θα έπρεπε να κάνω = I should (now / in general) – more hypothetical or advisory:
- Θα έπρεπε να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα – I should (really) take small breaks more often.

So:

έπρεπε → actual (past) obligation
θα έπρεπε → recommendation / “ought to”, not necessarily tied to a specific past moment

Why do we use να κάνω after θα έπρεπε, and what form is κάνω here?

After modal-like verbs such as πρέπει, μπορώ, θα έπρεπε, Greek uses να + subjunctive:

πρέπει να κάνω – I must do
μπορώ να κάνω – I can do
θα έπρεπε να κάνω – I should do

So κάνω here is present subjunctive. The να marks the subjunctive mood.

You don’t say:

✗ θα έπρεπε κάνω
You must include να:
✓ θα έπρεπε να κάνω

Why is it πιο συχνά and not πιο συχνός?

συχνά is the adverb (frequently, often), while συχνός is the adjective (frequent).

In English we say more often, not more frequent in this context, so Greek also uses the adverb:

πιο συχνά – more often, more frequently

Adjective vs adverb:

συχνός καφές – frequent coffee (not natural; sounds odd even in Greek)
πίνω καφέ συχνά – I drink coffee often
πίνω καφέ πιο συχνά – I drink coffee more often

Could we say συχνότερα instead of πιο συχνά? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

συχνότερα – more frequently, more often

It’s the synthetic comparative of the adverb. Difference:

πιο συχνά – very common in everyday speech
συχνότερα – a bit more formal/literary, but still perfectly correct

So:

θα έπρεπε να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα
θα έπρεπε να κάνω συχνότερα μικρά διαλείμματα

Both mean the same thing; the first sounds more conversational.

Is μικρά διαλείμματα just “small breaks”, or does μικρά imply “short” in time?

Literally, μικρά διαλείμματα = small breaks, but in this context μικρά is understood as short in duration, not physically small.

So it matches the English idea of short breaks:

μικρά διαλείμματα – small/short breaks (brief pauses)

You could also say σύντομα διαλείμματα to emphasize duration, but μικρά διαλείμματα is very common and natural.

Why is διαλείμματα plural? Could we say it in the singular?

It’s plural because the speaker is talking about the habit of taking multiple breaks over time:

κάνω μικρά διαλείμματα – I take small/short breaks (repeatedly)

Singular:

κάνω ένα μικρό διάλειμμα – I take a small break (one specific break)

In this sentence, the idea is: I should take small breaks more often – i.e. regularly, many times, so the plural fits best.

Why is there a comma after καθαρό? Could we change the word order around the comma?

The comma separates two clauses:

Για να κρατήσω το μυαλό μου καθαρό, – purpose clause
θα έπρεπε να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα. – main clause

It’s like English:

To keep my mind clear, I should take short breaks more often.

You can also reverse the order in Greek:

Θα έπρεπε να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα για να κρατήσω το μυαλό μου καθαρό.

In that case, you don’t usually put a comma:

No comma: …διαλείμματα για να κρατήσω…

Is there a more natural or alternative way to say να κάνω διαλείμματα?

κάνω διάλειμμα/διαλείμματα is already very natural. Some alternatives:

να κάνω συχνά διαλείμματα – to often take breaks
να κάνω πιο συχνά διάλειμμα – to take a break more often (less common in this exact structure)
να κάνω παύσεις – to make pauses (a bit more formal or specific)
να σταματάω πιο συχνά για λίγο – to stop more often for a bit (more informal/paraphrasing)

But your original:

να κάνω πιο συχνά μικρά διαλείμματα
is perfectly idiomatic modern Greek.