Take a Break

I had a great reminder of my need for clarity breaks this morning.  I also had the realization that working remotely when you are used to 60 hours a week and a lot of travel might have seemed like a break in the beginning but it really isn’t a break.  It’s just a different kind of crazy.

I woke up this morning and realized I had hit a wall.  I have spent the last six weeks dealing with four teenagers who are distance learning and also grieving the loss of a lot of things in their lives.  I have spent the last six weeks constantly visioning, re-visioning, and brainstorming ways to pivot for my business. I feel good about how we have weathered this storm so far. This morning all I could feel was burnout.  My brain was tired…it was asking for a break.

So, I rescheduled my morning meetings, took the dog, and headed out for a long slow run.  I needed space without technology, my family, or any other distractions to just think.  To allow my brain to slow down and my intuition and subconscious to get caught up so I could hear them again.

I spent my trail time thinking about the issues we are dealing with, identifying potential solutions, even stopping at multiple points to send myself an email with an idea so I wouldn’t forget.  In one hour I solved more issues than I would have solved all day given where my head was at. Clarity is a real thing, it’s a competitive advantage when used regularly.  Yet so many of us think if we just push a little harder, work a little harder we will figure it all out.  I believe the opposite is true when we pull back and relax is when the greater ideas, the biggest solutions come to us.  It’s counterintuitive for most of us but trust me, it works.

I’m writing this blog as a PSA (Public Service Announcement) to all of my fellow leaders.  Take a break, a real break.  You owe it to yourself, your team, your family, and your brain.  When I think about this topic I am reminded of an Einstein quote in my office, which I can’t wait to get back to someday!

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”  – Albert Einstein

Make sure you are deliberating taking steps to shift your perspective because that’s where the best ideas come from.

When’s the last time you took a clarity break? I think it’s time.