Time Off!

Today is my last day in the office until after the Bank Holiday, I am really looking forward to taking time off.

That is something I never thought I'd find myself saying.

I used to pride myself on how hard I worked, that meant clocking ridiculous hours and being permanently glued to a device... even when I was supposed to be on holiday.

On reflection I realise that working hard doesnt always mean working well. Hours spent working in the past didnt always correlate with delivering the desired results. Anyone that's ever pulled an all nighter to deliver something has probably spent time later on doing the work properly.

Over the years I have got better at deciding what needs to be done in the first instance, identifying the important items that really move the needle and doubling down on that. The Eisenhower matrix is really powerful when you apply it to your inbox or even to work generally.

Burning yourself out isnt a badge of honour. It's really important to set a good example to your people to encourage them to take time off and recharge. Thankfully I see leaders doing exactly this nowadays, that's a big cultural shift when I think back to previous work cultures I have observed. I look back at the example I set through my actions previously, taking meetings when supposedly on leave and being 'always on' - that's not a good place to be if you want to see sustainable growth.

Society seems to be embracing the idea that being a workaholic isnt healthy and isnt sustainable. (Being anything-aholic probably means you lack balance and perspective, again not cool!).

Workday have a really good approach to work/life balance too, 6 extra vacation days in the summer to re-charge, equal paid time off for both parents when it comes to the birth of a child which is all evidence of a healthy culture that reflects the symbiotic relationship of employer/employee.

I suppose my real why around why I am looking forward to time off is more personal. I dont want my little girl to reflect on her childhood and think that Dad was always on the phone or was always too busy to commit to the things that matter to her.

Incidentally, I listened to a good book recently called Indistractable by Nir Eyal that brought together all of this thinking for me. I dont think I learned anything new, more that it made me admit to the things that I knew where true all along.

Focus on the stuff that matters, work hard to achieve those objectives, strive for a healthy equilibrium.

TTFN x