Give Yourself a Break

One of the reasons we founded LAITHOS was our passion for living an integrated life. Each of us had gone the route of giving 95% to our jobs and 5% to everything else. And each of us discovered along the way that when we increased the percentage towards “everything else”, our sustainable productivity and job engagement also rose. In a culture that focuses on working hard to succeed, it seems counter-intuitive; yet, it rang true for us.

In fact, science is beginning to examine and validate that it is true. We perform better when we show up in all aspects of our lives and when bring our whole selves to work. This is also true for team performance. Forging real connection with your team creates an environment where you know one another and can truly have each other’s backs.  These days, connections are even more important if you are relegated to virtual meetings and have few opportunities for personal connection.

The pandemic has forced a pause in many of our activities, and burnout is starting to show up with increasing frequency.  For some, every day is “Groundhog Day”… repeating the same things over and over again. Once in it, it’s hard to see a way out. This is when increasing time for things in your life that bring energy, connection and contentment is critical. The same is true for your team: Seek ways to encourage creativity and laughter; allow time for personal connection.

I’m sure we will look back at these times and be amazed at what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. But to do that, we have to keep moving forward.

This Week: Give yourself a break. Do something different that you want to do. Create, explore, build… whatever brings you joy. This moment will bring energy to other things that need to be done.