I was traveling from Ecuador to El Salvador this week.
I had a 3:14am flight, 7-hour layover, and then another 2-hour flight.
Instead of suffering through the airport wait (and severe lack of sleep), I checked myself into a resort for 4 hours to take a nap.
It costs $10 each way for a taxi and $93 for a “night” at this hotel.
Why?
An unrested mind will always struggle to be productive or creative.
Lack of sleep can cause Reduced adaptability, emotional capacity, impaired judgment and memory (source)
So why do we constantly overextend ourselves?
For me it was
Knowing that my task list will haunt me if I don’t stay on top of it
Over-committing to people and projects
The guilt of not “being busy”
Do you connect with any of these?
For the past 2 years recovery and rest have become massively prioritized in my life.
I used to wear my overworked and tired mind like a badge of honor.
Now it’s rare that you will catch me out of the house past 10.
Here are the 3 ways that I have improved my rest and recovery.
Having downtime during the day. Spending 30 minutes napping or in a meditative state where you can slow your heart rate and breathing gives you an entire new day of energy.
Putting my phone outside of my room. After 10 pm I ditch my phone for the night and keep it out of arms reach.
Take walking meetings. Movement makes you more tired at the end of your day. It also contributes massively to creativity. Replace some of your Zoom calls with calls while you walk 3km.
The result
I work in sprints of 2.5 hours and can accomplish more in that time than most people do in a day.
I have energy for social activities or hobbies in the afternoon
I don’t dread difficult tasks nearly as much as I did before
I would like to hear how you manage this for yourself.
Mike
Comments