Allocate Adequate Recovery Time

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Yesterday I delivered my Wisdom Mastery monthly program.  I love the community.  Love the interaction.  I spend quite a bit of energy setting it up, showing up and following up.  It's a passion of mine to serve my Wisdom Mastery community.

And I am exhausted!

Over my 30-year consulting career, almost every project evolved into a passion project.  I cared about meeting milestones and deadlines.  I cared about the quality of deliverables.  Mostly though, I cared about the people.  My clients.  My team. 

And…

Over 30 years, I averaged about 5 hours of sleep a night …. and that's only if I INCLUDE weekends!  When people asked why I didn't suffer from jet lag when I flew all over the world, I told them I was so constantly exhausted, my body just didn't register jet lag.

If you're a consultant, entrepreneur, executive or mom, (or … or … or…) you KNOW what I'm talking about, right?

We run and run.  It's what we do to excel.  It's what we do to SURVIVE!

Passion fuels us, true.  But our bodies also keep track.  It keeps track on it's own scorecard.  Is yours keeping score on your kidneys?  Your liver?  Around your middle?  And most certainly, your brain keeps score, giving you clear indicators, showing up as Doubt, Fatigue and Stress. 

Feeling any of those lately?

Yep!  Hard not to!

Personally, my body keeps track with my lungs.  When I stress my body, I breathe lighter, using only the upper part of my lungs.  What emotion does my body equate with shallow breathing? 

FEAR! 

30 years of shallow breathing….YIKES! 

There is a simple solution: 

Recovery Time

Athletes know to perform at a world class level, they need world class recovery time.   Baked right into their schedule.  Want to be world class?  Allocate world class Recovery Time.  Here are four of my Recovery Time practices.  Experiment with one or two! 

• The 20-20-20 Rule.  Every 20 minutes look up from your desk and focus on an object at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.  Ophthalmologists call this the 20-20-20 Rule.  (Get it, eye doctors.  20-20 Vision.  20-20-20 Rule.  Took me awhile to get it!)

• Brain Brakes to Reduce Brain Breaks.  Give your brain a rest!  Every 50 minutes stand up and move around.  Swing your arms.  Jump up and down.  Do some sit ups or air squats.  This activates your circulatory system and delivers oxygen to your brain.

• Innovation Days.  Allocate one day a week with ZERO agenda.  I call these my Innovation Days.  Can't block out an entire day?  Then, block out a few hours, just for YOU.  And don't fill it with Catchup tasks.  (empty calories!)  Do something new, creative, empowering, serene, harmonic.  Fill your SOUL!

• Happy (not January) New Year.  Every year for 24 years, I took three consecutive weeks of vacation days in July.  Those three weeks zero'd out my Work Stress Bank.  Once a year, I came back to work refreshed and ready to face another year of challenges.  I celebrated my New Year in August!  Treat yourself to an annual vacation.  Do SOMETHING not related to the normal functions of your brain!

Yesterday, I delivered my monthly program to my Wisdom Mastery Community.  A satisfying, fulfilling and fun day! And I'm tired with a capital "T"

It's time for Recovery Time!