You may be thinking, “I wish I had time to relax but there is just too much to do.” And my guess is that there always is and always will be.
I had a client a number of years ago who was working hard to keep his business afloat. He would try to get up at 4:00 am and start working. He would labor all day, juggling meetings, emails, and phone calls. Exhausted, he would continue to work late into the evening, attempting to squeeze out a few more tasks. But he eventually learned something interesting. When he worked 50 hours a week, he got more accomplished than when he put in 80 hours. Why? Because his brain was fresher and more productive.
As Social Worker Felix Scardino reports, “In the early days of biofeedback, researchers attached conductor wires to the foreheads of two young boys and the wires registered electrical impulses from their brains. Each boy sat before his own electric train, and his wires were attached to the power source of the train. The train would speed up when the boys relaxed, and slow down when they were tense. When the boys raced their trains, the one who relaxed the most was the winner. What an awesome early lesson those boys got – “The more I relax the better I succeed.”
The take-a-way is clear. Do you want to be more productive? Learn to take breaks, unwind, relax, and ultimately – change your mind. I encourage you to try it and who knows how much more you might accomplish!