Last week we spoke about the first energy discipline in the book, The EOS Life by Gino Wickman, namely 10-Year Thinking.

Today I want to discuss the second discipline, called: Take Time Off. 

It’s really important that we give our brains time to rest. 

It's important that we create a lifestyle in which there is time for us to have holidays, that there is extensive time off that we can spend with family and friends and build our other passions and our other relationships. That it's not just work, work, work, work, work, and everything revolves around work. These are the principles followed in the book and I fully endorse them. 

Also in EOS training, we speak about the 'clarity breaks'. A clarity break is where you take a specific time off from work and you move yourself physically away from work to a place where you can be quiet for at least an hour or an hour-and-a-half.

You can rest your brain and then you are able to be creative again. This is a time when creativity can kick in and you have time for strategic thinking. 

I've taken this one step further. Every week I want one period of 24 hours off that I can be totally quiet - it’s my Sunday. I don't answer my phone during those 24 hours, I don't answer emails and only respond to texts if it's an emergency. That gives me the time to think about what's coming in the coming week, and reflect on the previous week. It gives my brain time to rest and recuperate. It gives me time for church and family and everything else that's important. 

So there you have it: take time off. It's important. It's important for yourself, it's important for your family, but it is also important for your leadership journey, and for your productivity at work. It makes you a better person. 

When last did you create the opportunity to take time off?

Have a great week!

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