Taking a Breather

“Do as I say, not as I do!”

Don’t you hate when people say that to you? Yeah, me too—almost as much as I hate saying it. ☺

This blog definitely falls into that category. We’re talking about leading ourselves, and the starting point for leading ourselves is taking care of ourselves. This is a growth area for me especially in regards to the topic of this blog: taking regular days off from our work.

Unfortunately, it’s rare that I’m not engaged in some form of work on my days off. To be more intentional about time off, it might be helpful to keep the following in mind.

An article called “The Benefits of Rest and Relaxation” on the website Wings for the Heart lists several benefits of rest: It restores our energy, repairs our bodies, calms our thoughts and improves our focus.

These are wonderful benefits that help improve our personal lives. But guess what? Rest and relaxation also improve our professional lives.

According to Dan Sullivan, cofounder of Toronto-based Strategic Coach, "By getting away from work and letting the mind get involved in thinking, hobbies and rejuvenation, you come back to the job and produce results faster.”

Another incentive to getting rest is to look at the alternative. What happens when we don’t get rest? The following story highlights what happens when we’re consumed with work.

“I recently met with a capable and driven executive and asked him, ‘How are you?’ He gave me a rapid-fire answer of all of the things he was doing: travelling, business updates, career changes and his children’s innumerable activities. It sounded like an intense but satisfying life.

“Then I asked him again, ‘How are you really?’ And the moment I did, he became emotional and the reality of his life just flooded out of him: his stress, his frustration of trying to juggle it all, his sense that he had no time to really think, or play with his children or enjoy any of it. The (cute) summary is this: his schedule was always filled but his life wasn’t fulfilled.” (See “The Difference Between Successful and Very Successful People” by Greg McKeown.)

Have a weekend (any kind of weekend). Have a life. Be a better leader.