It’s another Monday and I’m sure everyone is feverishly assaulting the work week already. I’m with you – it’s going to be busy today and the rest of the week. But maybe I did something you didn’t recently and that may make a difference in how we fare the rest of the week. Not a bad management lesson as well.
You see, I took Saturday and most of yesterday off. I don’t mean I didn’t go into the office. I tried, as best I could, to dis-engage. I didn’t spend time returning emails – nothing was critical – I didn’t read trades on-line or off. I read two books instead, neither of which was business-related. I played and watched golf. I took a day off.
“Good for you,” I hear you saying, “so did I.” Did you? Sit at the computer returning business mail? Work on any projects? Any business-related phone calls? Hopefully not, but I find it hard not to do some work most weekends. Almost all of us are on 24/7. We have email on our hips, we’re always very reachable, and we’ve probably set our lives up so that information we want finds us, sometimes even when we’re not looking. So go hide. Maybe turn off the news. Maybe listen only to music. Whatever works for you.
As workers, we need to recharge. As managers, we need to make those who work for us do it so we can as well. That means making sure people use their vacation time and allowing enough time when assigning projects that people don’t fry themselves getting non-emergency work done. I’m not being a Pollyanna here: there are times when you and your teams need to go hard and without a break. But doing so all the time is a recipe for disaster. That’s how details are overlooked and imperfect work gets submitted.
Have you heard the one about an ounce of prevention and a pound of cure? 😉 Tell me how you spent your time off!
Consult Keith 