Time to Think, Part Two: Vacations

As discussed in the last blog, finding time to think during the regular work day is important for our creativity and productivity.

But finding time for a full recharge is just as important.   And that means “unplugging” from work during vacation.

Yet,42% of Americans did not take a vacation in 2014 and workers, on average, give up five vacation days per year.*  And when they do take vacation, they take their work along with them.

In a recent article** in The Wall Street Journal, Brian Scudamore, CEO of O2E Brands, states the following:

“I realized that unless I unplug completely on vacation, I cheat myself out of generating fresh, new, creative ideas. In the long run, business suffers from my burnout.

“I also think that if our people don’t disconnect, they end up compromising their contributions to our overall mission. More importantly, they fail at what should be their top priority: cherishing time with family and friends, and having work-life balance.”

But how to do it?  Brian has a very creative plan.  He works with his assistant to change his passwords on his email and social media accounts, and to not tell him what they are until he returns from vacation.  He has his COO cover for him while he is gone.

“The results have been revolutionary,” says Scudamore.  “I come back from vacation super-charged, rested and feeling like I gave my family and friends my best self.”

I admit that it sounds difficult and amazing that this CEO can pull this off.

But I challenge you and myself to try.  The next time I go on vacation (soon), I am going to take some baby steps.  I am going to try THREE WHOLE DAYS not checking work email.  And then I’ll just glance at it after that.  We’ll see how it goes.  Maybe I will be up for changing my passwords the next time around.

The more refreshed we are – day in and day out – and over time, the better quality we can bring to our work and make an even more significant Mission Impact.  Try a real vacation next time! 

*“Top Five Reasons People Don’t Use Their Vacation Days,” Money & Career CheatSheet, July 4, 2016.

**“How I Make it Impossible to Look at Email During Vacation” by Brian Scudamore, The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2016.  

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site.  You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.

Time to Think

“Slow down, you move too fast.  You got to make the morning last.”

                  -Simon & Garfunkel, The 59th Street Bridge Song

How many times has it happened to you?  You glance at your Smart Phone during a meeting and notice it is 2:30 p.m..  “What!?!  Where has this day gone already?”

Today’s workplace is characterized by endless meetings and tons of email.  We seem to be busy, busy, busy from the time we wake up and glance at that Smart Phone to check emails that have come in overnight.  And recent research from the University of Maryland shows that American workers are spending even more time on the job than they did ten years ago.  But, what about the “quality” of all that busyness? Consider this quote from Wendy Clark, CEO of DDB North America:

“We are infinitely more productive when we have time to think.” (Fast Company, July/August 2016)

Time to Think. What a concept!

Consider this quote from a recent article in The Wall Street Journal*:

“Managers and knowledge workers, such as consultants, now spend 90% to 95% of their working hours in meetings, on the phone and responding to email”

Sound like your life?  And there’s more:

“Research and advisory firm CEB Inc. has found that 35% to 40% of managers ‘are so overloaded that it’s actually impossible for them to get work done effectively,’ said Brian Kropp, a CEB leader who works with chief HR officers.”

 

If you can give yourself time to think, I suggest it will improve the quality of your work in two ways: the quality of your decisions and the quality of your creativity.  It will probably also improve the quality of your relationships.

How to do it?  Two suggestions to begin:

*Renegotiate expectations about your availability with everyone

*Begin blocking time exclusively for you to think and get your own work done.  No meetings!

You deserve it.  Give yourself Time to Think.

*The Wall Street Journal, “So Busy at Work, No Time to Do the Job,” June 28, 2016.

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site. You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.