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You need one, I need one: we all need a break

Guest post by: Merydith Willoughby

Article Overview: In the current economic climate the mantra is to work harder and harder. This is a global phenomenon and we are told it regularly. There is no time for a break; you just have to keep pushing yourself. Everyone else is doing it - so of course you must follow suit. It's expected that this behavior will impact on productivity in all the right ways and that the organisation will go from strength-to-strength. Those in leadership are not immune from this pressure. It is not only difficult to continue to work harder and harder, it is impossible because there comes a point when the bone has no more meat on it. While sustainable for awhile, over time issues start to emerge. Pressured, exhausted leaders can experience a loss of confidence, self esteem, lack of clarity and mental and/or physical health issues can appear...

You need one, I need one: we all need a break

In the current economic climate the mantra is to work harder and harder. This is a global phenomenon and we are told it regularly. There is no time for a break; you just have to keep pushing yourself. Everyone else is doing it - so of course you must follow suit. It's expected that this behavior will impact on productivity in all the right ways and that the organization will go from strength-to-strength. Those in leadership are not immune from this pressure.

It is not only difficult to continue to work harder and harder, it is impossible because there comes a point when the bone has no more meat on it. While sustainable for awhile, over time issues start to emerge. Pressured, exhausted leaders can experience a loss of confidence, self esteem, lack of clarity and mental and/or physical health issues can appear. In these circumstances leaders can start to make bad decisions because they are not taking time out to reflect on what they're actually doing as opposed to what they think they're doing. Instead of creating increased productivity and connecting to the organizational goals - the opposite can occur.



Time out

When I refer to having a break, I mean having a vacation; I mean getting as far away as you can afford to and doing what you love to do. Things that make you feel great inside and that invigorate you. I don't mean having a day off here, a day off there or having the odd long weekend away. Nor am I referring to having a vacation and working around the home or getting caught up in family dramas. You need a real break. It doesn't matter what that break is as long as it is what really works for you. You might enjoy being active and trying new things or you might just want to lie around and relax and read books. Whatever you do is fine, so long as it has the desired result.



Plan for them

You can use the same principle to plan for your vacation as you do for a meeting. Draw up a timeline and write down exactly what you want to do. Many people don't bother to do the plan and end up just hanging around the house and working. Then before they know it they're back at work. Get as far away as you can! Get away from your mobile (turn it off), take a different mobile just for family and friends, stay away from the laptop (hide it) and away from anyone who wants you for work related issues (act dumb). Don't leave an auto-reply email message telling them that you are on a break, and that if it's urgent they can contact you on your mobile number because their definition of urgent may be quite different from what the real word means. Leave someone else's number or if you don't have anyone to whom you can delegate then leave the date of your return and promptly respond to them when you return from your fantastic break. It doesn't matter what position you are in, it will survive without you. If you didn't work because you'd moved on, were retrenched or were dead, they'd have to manage without you and in a way you are helping them to develop a succession plan. If something happens they will have to manage so think about the leadership development opportunities you're giving them!



The downside of not doing it

This article is intended to call you to action, to assist you to start thinking about whether you are part of the culture I have described. Initially you may deny that this is your profile but if you think long and hard about it you may find out that the cap does fit. When this realization occurs, take stock, think about what it is costing you, the organization and the employees you lead and then do something about it. The downside of just ignoring it and thinking that everything is okay may well not be the price you want to pay in the long term.

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Article Tags: baby, balance, career, clarity, confidence, development, entrepreneur, executive coach, fertility, giant leap, government, job, leader, manager, men, mentoring, organizational goals, performance development, productivity, profits, self esteem, time management, training, women, work
Referred by: http://www.imentor-pro.com



Related Forum Posts
Re: How do you make the most of your day? - Hi Cheryl , You gave some good tips here, I recommend trying them, because I tried them myself. It didn't work for me, Why? because when the timer go off, I tell to myself, just one second, i need to finish this or that, and than I take he break, and one second turns to on minute and 15 minutes. Or the other way, 10 minutes break can turn into 1 hour break. My luck (or not) I only have 2 hours to work online, so i squeeze my tasks to 2 hrs and that's it. I work with google calendar these days, schedule the daily tasks and create tasks for the unusual ones, and when i am done, I mark them. If I didn't get to some tasks I move them to the next day.
Re: How do you refocus on work after vacation? - I have a VERY difficult time refocusing after vacation. Even a few day break makes it hard for me to get back into the swing of things. The longer the break the harder it is getting back into it. I haven't found anything that helps me become re-focused easier. If you find something then let me know!
Re: Ideas For Business - Thanks everyone for participating on our little business conquest! Me and Stas will be taking a break for the holidays, and I'd just like to wish everyone happy holidays, Merry Christmas and a happy new year!=] We will update you all on any new updates with our sales after the break.
Re: What I enjoyed reading this week - Jan 13, 2012 - Thanks Evan, I found the "Law of Diminishing Returns" article very interesting and I agree that it makes perfect sense. When one sits at any task and works intensely for a set length of time and then takes a break before continuing, and does this on a regular basis they are usually more efficient than someone who just works straight through without a break. MichelleJ
How to you re-fresh yourself? - Productive time improvement is about increasing the time that you, your staff or your organisation has available for front-line service delivery; and making sure that time is being used to best effect - "working smarter" by: - doing the right things - (eliminate unnecessary work) - the right way - (use standard, streamlined processes) - with the right people - (right skills, availability, location) - using the right tools and equipment. But we all will agree that somewhere we don't follow these and give ourselves a break. When I give myself a break, I a. play online games b. chat on Internet c. Listen to some soft music What you do when you are not "working smarter"?


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