If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now you know that I try to write between 3 and 6 posts a week. Last week was a slow one for me with only 3 being written.
Was I sick? Was I exhausted? Had I had enough?
No, no and no. There are times when we all need to take a step back in order to leap forward.
Last week was one such week for me.
With 2012 just on the horizon, I decided that it was time for me to lay out my own personal plan for the upcoming year.
I also invested the time I normally would have been writing to studying marketing, reading a few books and interview a few people.
As this site is all about success I thought it would be valuable to share just what it takes to succeed in different fields.
Consistency, desire, and patience were just a few of the points that they all agreed on.
In the coming month or so I will release each of them here so keep an eye out for them.
And lastly, the break really freshened me up.
Unfortunately, in this day and age it’s all go, go, go. Technology was supposed to help take the load off us, but ironically, it has increased the pressure on all of our shoulders.
Competition is nipping at our butt from every direction. Rest is something we can ill afford to take.
We are expected to do more, finish faster and be home by five. Something’s gotta give.
Quite a few people I know are working themselves to the bone. They have bills to play and things to do. It is precisely these people that, from time to time, would benefit most from taking some time off.
A client of mine actually had a friend of his work himself to death. Can you believe that?
And at the young age of 26!
We only get one life. We all know that. What we don’t realize is how much damage we are doing to ourselves.
Many people think that when they are falling behind the best thing to do is work harder.
Me, I’m a fan of working smarter. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in working hard. What I do believe is that we need to get the most out of our time and energy and sometimes that means taking a step back.
Let me explain.
Let’s say, at present you can handle 2 projects. That’s your limit.
Unfortunately, this week your boss sticks you with 3. Inevitably you fall behind on one or more because the workload is overwhelming. Most people will simply work overtime to get the job done.
This is what a typical person’s week (let’s call him John) stuck in this situation would look like:
- Monday – 100%
- Tuesday – 90% (worked till 10 and only got 5 hours sleep Monday night)
- Wednesday- 80% (slept only 4 hours)
- Thursday – 60% (slept 6 hours)
- Friday – 45% (slept 3 hours)
The problem is that our bodies can only take so much. On Thursday John’s ability dropped steeply because of the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. He tried to compensate by getting 6 hours, but it just wasn’t enough and as a result pushes himself even harder the next day. As a result Friday he’s worn out and has TGIF on the brain.
This to me is working hard and rarely does it end well.
Instead of working overtime each night, maybe only do that on two nights and the others get the rest you need. As a result, you can operate at 100% or close to it for the entire week.
An added bonus is come the weekend you’re not exhausted and able to actually enjoy it.
A person who knows how to work “smart” will take advantage of their free time to pick up a few new skills or techniques in their free time so as to prepare them for future projects.
Working smart means you know when to go into overdrive and when to, as Kit Kat is so famous for saying, “have a break.”
Adrian Shepherd