Give Yourself A Break

are you being asked to 'do more with less'?
I'm helping out by teaching people how to run effective meetings, so you can achieve more together, in less time. Flick me an email if you're interested in that.

Now, don't get me wrong - I love my kids.

But...

They're exhausting.

Ellie and I haven't given them away for a sleepover since our eldest daughter was born 5 years ago.

Last Saturday, we dumped them at their Nana and Pop's.

Driving home, we were like teenagers leaving home for the first time.

Freeeeeedom!

Arriving home, Ellie turns to me and says: "Is it really lame that I just want to tidy the house?"

I laughed.

"Yes," I agreed. ..."

And yet that's exactly what I want to do too. It might actually stay tidy for more than 3 minutes."

Last week I was up in Auckland with some of my coaching clients.

I tell you what... they could do with 24 hours away from work, kids, family... all of it.

It's a really tough time to be a public servant. As one friend put it, you're getting bashed by both the public and your own government.

It's not much easier in business either.

Business leaders are wondering... will the recent interest changes make a difference?

Well, who knows.

In times like these, our default response is to try and squeeze more from the work day.

Annoyingly enough...

the times when we feel we can't take a break...

are often when we need one the most.

Maybe we need to stop thinking of them as 'breaks' at all.

The word "break" comes from the Old English word "brecan". It means "to break, shatter, or burst." No wonder we feel guilty about them.

What if we thought of breaks as boosts?

Like when you're playing Mario Kart with the little boxes that give you a special power. Breaks power you up.

And they don't have to be big. You may not need a week off from work. Or a big 2-day offsite with your team.

What about building them into your work day?

Managing your energy isn't selfish, it's of service.

After all, the energy we bring to work changes the impact we have.