Recently The Wall Street Journal had an article on single people getting off the fast track. Their main example was a lawyer whom left a big law firm, started her own, still works long and hard hours but does so on her schedule. One of her comments was, “I wanted to have a life–a full life-which meant not just always working.”
When listing goals for the year some of my business owner clients added (to their business goals):
- Get away more
- Work fewer hours
- Exercise more
- There are solid reasons we’ve evolved our business practices to work 8-10 hours per day, have a couple days off every week and take vacations. It’s similar to what I learned in my production management class about how production increases when workers are given a break every few hours. When we get away, for minutes, days or weeks, we are much more productive upon our return.
I also believe we (even us not-so-creative types) get increased creativity when away. I know I’ve had some of my best ideas when running, walking my dogs, bike riding or on vacation.
As we head into the summer season, keep in mind that enjoying yourself actually increases your effectiveness.
“Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” Humorist Robert Benchley