Peak performers are focused on getting results, but they recognise this also calls for building in times for rest and recovery. Failing to do so means they can crash and burn.
Climbing your chosen mountain – or doing your best in your job – can be arduous. So set aside times to re-energise your body and mind. You will then be able to make even better quality decisions.
Let’s explore three steps for making this happen.
1) You can build in time for rest and recovery.
“Nowadays I only have so much energy, so I have learned how to channel it properly,” said one leader.
“Looking at the year ahead, I anticipate the busiest periods of business activity. Bearing these in mind, I create time to both prepare and recover. If possible, for example, I plan two long weekends – Friday to Monday – before and after these hectic periods. My partner and I love sunshine, so we get away to warm our bones in November and February.”
“Nowadays I also break-down my day into blocks and build in time for recovery. I schedule 45 minute meetings, for example, rather ones that last an hour. I have re-learned to eat properly. Now I have a healthy snack every 90 minutes.
“I also walk outside to refresh my brain and get oxygen. Previously I hardly ever left my desk. Starving myself between breakfast and lunch, I then ate stodgy food. Now I seem more able to channel my energy.”
How can you follow these principles in your own way? Looking to the future, how can you create time to refresh your mind and body? Try completing the following sentence.
2) You can make good use of the times for rest and recovery.
Different people have different ways of re-energising themselves. Colin Powell, the former US General, famously spent time in his garage renovating old Volvo cars. You may sleep, take a holiday, listen to music, do gardening, go skydiving or whatever.
“But I feel guilty about taking time-off,” somebody may say. “I am so duty-driven that sometimes I don’t eat or rest properly. Then I get ill.”
Such people need see how resting will improve their performance. Otherwise they will never give themselves permission to relax. They must also find their individual way of regaining energy. How can you follow these principles in your own way? Try completing the following sentences.
3) You can encourage other people to build in time for rest and recovery.
If you are a leader, encourage your team members to recharge their batteries.
Good workers often volunteer to take on extra tasks. You need their 100% effort, but they must also re-centre. Certainly everybody must work hard to scale their chosen mountain. But if they try to climb it in one burst they can lose concentration and court disaster.
Encourage people to revitalise their bodies and minds. They will then be more likely to make good decisions and achieve ongoing success. The challenge will be to communicate this message in a way that people can accept. It’s useless to urge them to ‘take a rest, you will feel better for it’.
The key will be to outline the benefits. Try completing the following sentences.
Peak performers love to work hard, which is part of what makes them special. At the same time they need to take care of their bodies and souls. Great workers build in time for proper rest and recovery. This enables them to deliver even better results.
Posted on Saturday, October 1st, 2011 at 4:12 pm in Strengths, The Strengths Blog | RSS feed
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