If you’re anything remotely like the average American – this is the time of year for reflection and goal setting. That – when distilled for comedic effect – essentially means three things:
- Thinking about how last year sucked
- Writing down what you’re going to do this year to make it suck less
- Going to the gym in January and giving up around March
It should go without saying – but I’ll say it anyway – don’t be this person.
I don’t mean that you shouldn’t reflect, plan, or even go to the gym. But in some ways I do think these activities are of lesser importance to you.
Instead, I think you should consider approaching 2020 by planning rest.
Working Harder
I generally try and make the assumption that most of you reading this are pretty decent at getting things done. You may not be perfect or exactly where you want to be – but plenty of you aren’t just spinning your wheels.
Instead, you’re usually looking for the next step in your goal.
This usually involves working harder, and the reasons are myriad – getting noticed, getting a job, getting hired full time, getting a promotion, switching careers, making more money, learning new skills, becoming more invaluable, etc.
All of that leaves you very little, if any, time for recovery.
High performance athletes know that recovery time is just as important – if not more important – than time spent practicing, reviewing, and training.
What you don’t realize is that you are a high performance athlete – you’re just probably training your brain muscle like crazy. Maybe, or maybe not the rest of your body.
Vacation
One of my mentors – Sean D’Souza – runs a podcast he calls Three Month Vacation.
It sounds absolutely audacious, but Sean and his wife take three months off a year. Not all at once – but in month-long chunks.
“What?! That’s crazy! That’s awesome… but I could never do that!”
I hear you saying…
And, in some ways, you’re right. If you have a full time job and you’re not self-employed – you won’t be taking 3 months of vacation every year.
But, the principles Sean uses to get those three months are the most important.
Because he plans them first.
Before the rest of the year – his products, courses, any work at all – he plans his vacations. He does this because if you don’t plan your vacations first – work will naturally overtake them.
While you may not even plan your yearly vacation first – I want to encourage you to plan your downtime.
Sean didn’t start with three months of vacation. He started with one day off a week. For one day, he wasn’t allowed to work on anything – he had to rest.
That one day became a full weekend. Now, he takes three months out of the year, and every weekend. He’s so dilligent at this that it’s actually impossible to contact him during any of those timeframes – and if you do reach him – your first inclination is to tell him to stop working!
I don’t think that less than a quarter of what Sean does is out of your reach. You should be able to, by the end of the year, have trained yourself to turn your brain off for two days a week.
Go read books, lay on the couch and do nothing, catch up on some movies, go out and have fun with (or make new) friends. It will be healthier for you, and you’ll actually get more done.
Remember to Rest
I believe that in the last 10-20 years, our brains have been caught unaware with both an onslaught of information and possibilities.
If you’re old enough, you remember being bored as a kid. At one point in my life, the internet didn’t exist. There was no social media, nothing to check.
I would lay on the ground hollering to my mother – “I’M BOOOOOOORED”
She would suggest lots of fun things that I would shoot down, uninterested, and then she would suggest I do chores. It was a great time.
That never happens any more – partly because I have adult responsibilities, partly because there’s always something to learn or do.
But I’ve learned that taking downtime and even being a little bored is incredibly important to my overall health. And, improving my overall health improves the rest of my work and life.
So, here’s what I want you to remember from today, and consider going into 2020:
- Rest is the most important part of your daily activities
- Plan to take a full rest day at least once a week – no working, even if you’re behind
- Reflecting, planning, and the gym are good – but consistency and underplanning is better
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