The Daily Rejuvenation Dose
The daily rejuvenation dose will help you avoid burnout, reduce stress and increase productivity. Our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing are the most important elements of our leadership. And yet, we put them at risk every time we prioritize our to do list over everything else.
The daily rejuvenation dose prioritizes your most important leadership asset - YOU!
Let's start by quickly evaluating what you are prioritizing and what you are putting at risk.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is never and 10 is always, how often do you choose to cross off another item on your list over going for a walk or taking a break?
How often do you squeeze just one more thing at the end of the workday, instead of powering off your computer, content with what you've accomplished?
How often do you choose to extend your workday over calling a friend or connecting with a family member?
If your answers are above 6, you likely would benefit from implementing the strategies below.
First, what we're taught about success and high performance is wrong.
We are told that leadership success is about working hard, being smarter and doing more. Most movies protray "successful" leaders as a workaholic and disconnected people seeking advancement over everything else. In school, we push kids to 'study hard so they can get high marks and secure a good career'. In society, we often hear advice that suggests we should hustle harder, grind it out, out work and out learn everyone else. All of this has us believing that our success comes at the cost of others, from outworking everyone else and pitting ourselves against anything that stands in our way - including rest, play and connection. This sounds exhausting, depleting and not much fun at all.
In reality, I believe leadership success is about creativity, meaning and connection. This doesn't mean we sit back and let things happen for us through the magical powers of manifestation and mantras. That's hogwash. What I'm suggesting here is that we embrace the body of research that shows us that "working harder" has tangible and significant costs to our overall wellbeing, productivity, innovation and yes, results. In other words, those long hours that you're putting in at work are likely hindering your progress, not helping you. The truth is when it comes to work that requires creativity and innovation - hello leadership! - it's not about the hours you put in, but rather about prioritizing your work and allowing space for insight to occur. "Even if you enjoy your job and work long hours voluntarily, you're simply more likely to make mistakes when you're tired - and most of us tire more easily than we think we do." (Sarah Green Carmichael, Harvard Business Review) Simply working harder and more than everyone else will lead to loneliness, burnout and lower quality work. In other words, working longer comes with incredible costs to us and those around us. The bottom line here is that 12-hour days shouldn't be your norm. Research suggests that "...people can put in a week or two of 60 hours to resolve a true crisis. But that's different from chronic overwork." (Sarah Green Carmichael, Harvard Business Review)'
6 Daily Rejuvenation Strategies for Sustainable and Meaningful Success:
Mind your energy
The most important asset to our leadership is our energy so let's take good care of it. When it comes to our ability to solve challenges and find opportunities, we are best served by mental energy that is plentiful, sharp and nimble. A few "duh, I know that!" points to start: getting a good night's sleep (7-9 hours), eating well (things that don't come in packaging) and exercising (I prefer daily, but research suggests 3x per week for 30 minutes is enough) are critical for replenishing energy levels, so pick an areas to start improving and commit the next 30 days to making small progress! Now to the other stuff... Review your daily, weekly and monthly activities and look to eliminate or reduce the activities that drain your energy. If you don't have time to complete this exercise or any interest in doing so (no offense!), simply bring awareness to your energy levels throughout the day and make note of those things that are energizing you, draining you or fall somewhere in between. Then simply look for ways to reduce the drainers and increase the energizers. Look to reduce meetings you don't need to be at, projects that you don't need to be a part of and people that tend to be energetic vampires. The formula is simple: increase activities, places and people that bring you energy and reduce or eliminate those that don't. If you find that your energy is low at any particular time during the day, don't plough through - take a break, go for a walk outdoors or take a few mindful breaths to refocus and reenergize.
Tend to your 'no do' list
Consistently pruning your to-do list is a must for sustainable success. We typically focus on what to add to our list, or what is missing from our list, and rarely intentionally look for things to eliminate. This is a disservice to our leadership. Each day we should be reviewing our to-do list and actively looking for things NOT to do. Yup, that's right - your goal is NOT to add to your list, but rather to look for things that are not priority (eliminate), things to delegate, things to automate ...you get the idea. We all have the same 24 hours in a day - wisely choosing how you invest your 24 is a critical skillset for renewable success.
Book predictable time off
It's easy to simply keep working. One, because we're mostly working where we live these days and especially when you enjoy your work. This is true for me. I love what I do, so it's easy to keep reading, writing and serving my clients. I've had to define clear boundaries around when work starts and when work ends. Typically, I decide at the beginning of the day, when my workday will end. When that time arrives, my computer is shut off and I walk away. I also protect my calendar fiercely. I only allow something onto my calendar once my free time and personal work has been booked. This may mean that I can only accommodate a meeting a few weeks from today, but that's ok. It allows me to remain focused on what's truly important to me.
Commit to outdoor walks and dance parties
A walk outdoors among nature replenishes our bodies and spirits. It clears our head of challenges, opens us up to new insights and activates our parasympathetic nervous system (our natural antidote to stress). The more time you spend outdoors, the better. And dance parties, why well not? When I'm feeling a bit low on energy, unfocused or overwhelmed, a dance party always helps to lift my spirits and shift whatever might be blocking me.
Call a friend
Connection is the answer to a long, meaningful life. "People with strong social ties have a 50% better chance of survival, according to a clinical review of 150 studies and 300,000 people." (Business Insider) People with strong relationships tend to be happier, healthier and more satisfied with life. Invest in your friendships.
Slow things down
We have an addiction to busyness, as if it were a measure of our value or importance. Rejuvenation, creativity and innovation require us to slow things down. Insights come when we're not working hard to solve something. Creativity needs space to grow. Opportunity is all around us, if we take the time to look. To find solutions, we must quiet things down and listen to our inner wisdom. Neuroscience research has found that creativity, innovation and connection flourish at a slower pace. It's time to let go of being busy and fostering busyness in our teams. The new motto: Slow down to speed up.
Warmly,
Lisa
Lisa is an Executive Coach, Founder & CEO of LDR Leadership Labs. For more from Lisa, join the LDR Leadership Community on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/company/ldrleadershiplabs and sign up for the LDR Insiders Newsletter here.