Peak performers are focused on getting results - but they recognise this also calls for building-in times for rest and recovery. Failing to do so means they can crash and burn. Climbing your chosen mountain - or doing your best in your job – can be arduous. So set aside times for re-energising your body and mind. You will then be able to make even better quality decisions. Let’s explore three steps for making this happen.

1) You can build-in time for rest & recovery.

“Nowadays I only have so much energy – so I have learned how to channel it properly,” said one leader. “Looking at the year ahead, I anticipate the busiest periods of business activity. Bearing these in mind, I create time to both prepare and recover. If possible, for example, I plan two long weekends - Friday to Monday - before and after these hectic periods. My partner and I love sunshine, so we get away to warm our bones in November and February.”

“Nowadays I also break-down my day into blocks and build-in time for recovery. I schedule 45 minute meetings, for example, rather ones that last an hour. I have re-learned to eat properly. Now I have a healthy snack every 90 minutes. I also walk outside to refresh my brain and get oxygen. Previously I hardly ever left my desk. Starving myself between breakfast and lunch, I then ate stodgy food. Now I seem more able to channel my energy.”

How can you follow these principles in your own way? Looking to the future, how can you create time to refresh your mind and body? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to build-in times
for rest & recovery in the future are:

*

*

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2) You can make good use of the times for rest & recovery.

Different people have different ways of re-energising themselves. Colin Powell famously spent time in his garage renovating old Volvo cars. You may sleep, take a holiday, listen to music, do gardening, go skydiving or whatever. “But I feel guilty about taking time-off,” somebody may say. “I am so duty-driven that sometimes I don’t eat or rest properly – then I get ill.” Such people need see how resting will improve their performance. Otherwise they will never give themselves permission to relax. They must also find their individual way of regaining energy. How can you follow these principles in your own way? Try completing the following sentences.

The specific things I can do to make good
use of these times for rest & recovery are:

*

*

*

The benefits of doing these things will be:

*

*

*

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3) You can encourage other people to build-in time for rest & recovery.

If you are a leader, encourage your team members recharge their batteries. Good workers often volunteer to take on extra tasks. You need their 100% effort, but they must also re-centre. Certainly everybody must work hard to scale their chosen mountain. But if they try to climb it in one burst they can lose concentration and court disaster. Encourage people to revitalise their bodies and minds. They will then be more likely to make good decisions and achieve ongoing success. The challenge will be to communicate this message in a way that people can accept. It’s useless to urge them to ‘take a rest, you will feel better for it’. The key will be to outline the benefits. Try completing the following sentences.

The specific things I can do to encourage other people
to take time-out for proper rest & recovery are:

*

*

*

The things I can do to communicate this
message in a way that people can accept are:

*

*

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