Renew Thyself

After the 1,479th day of January, I think we could all use a Self Renewal Day (which just happens to be on February 2.) 

It’s never a bad time to get back in touch with your self. Even when you’re ambitious and have at least one BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal.)

I think for a lot of business owners, something like self-renewal sounds woo-woo at best and a waste of time at worst. (Sometimes the best use of time is to waste it, but we’ll save that weird little truth for another day.) 

However, if you renew your self by taking time for loved ones or activities you enjoy, you’re doing good things for your brain as defined by real neuroscience, no woo involved.

Why no self-renewal is bad for productivity

Are you a computer? If you are, then you don’t need any self-renewal. All you need is a power source and programming to tell you what to do.

Not a computer? Then stop trying to act like one. 

Humans can’t perform 24/7/365 without all kinds of bad stuff happening. 

• Shutdowns 

• Burnouts 

• Feeling of being stretched too thin 

• Feeling overwhelmed 

• Being more irritable than usual because you’re not sleeping

• Unable to take small breaks, never mind an actual vacation 

Most importantly, a life that is not the enjoyable one you wanted. Even though you may be running the company, you don’t have control over your time and you don’t really have the freedom you thought you would.

Sleep and exercise are often the two necessities that are first to go when people feel time-crunched. You might decide you can get by on less sleep at night so you can power through a bunch more emails. And (or) you might decide that since you eat healthy, you can get away with a lot less exercise.

Wrong on both counts. Sleep and exercise both are necessary for your brain to perform at its peak. 

What happens when you’re overtired from too little sleep? Well, the brain system (roughly analogous to Daniel Kahneman’s System Two) that’s responsible for business activities like planning, organizing, strategizing, and making decisions is extremely slow and takes a lot of energy. 

When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain is already tired and doesn’t want to expend all that energy. Rather than System Two, your brain stays in the “fast” System One. Which includes the stress activation system. 

When your flight-fight-or-freeze is activated, the “thinky” part, System Two, is entirely offline. So you’re making shitty decisions and flying off the handle. And even if you try to “catch up” on your sleep deficit on the weekends, you can’t. 

As a business owner, your biggest asset is your brain. 

Think it’s your computer? Well, what do you do when your computer breaks down? You get a new one. If you’re smart, you’ve been saving all your work in the cloud or on removable storage (like a thumb drive) so it’s not a big deal.

But what do you do when your brain breaks down?

Yeah, not so easy to replace! Since your biggest asset is your brain, sensible renewal actions are the ones that support your brain. 

NOT the actions that support computers or other people or other organizations, such as:

• Opening every email/phone call/text immediately, no matter how unimportant

• Doing everything that seems like it needs to be done, regardless of whose proper task it is and whether it’s important or not

• Allowing everyone to step into your office at any time, physically or not

• Trying to do two things at once in the belief that will make things go faster

• Scrolling through social media or email in an attempt to destress and/or procrastinate

All of the above pushes you farther away from achieving your goals, since they prevent you from focusing on the important tasks for long enough to get results. 

What you need for sustainable productivity

Instead, take care of your brain, which means doing things that your brain likes. The specifics can vary from person to person, but a high-performing brain requires each one of the following:

• 7-8 hours of sleep a night 

• Rest in between batches of hard “thinky” work (breaks are staring at walls, playing with kids or pets, hydrating, taking a bathroom break, calling a friend; nothing that requires a screen of any kind)

• Exercise (to get yummy oxygenated blood to your brain)

• Nutrition (no need to go on crazy diets or eat expensive food)

• Time with loved ones/good friends either in person or over the phone, possibly a Zoom if your cameras are on – yes, introverts need this too, just less of it than extroverts

• Fun activities: rec sports league, needlecrafting, woodworking, making art (whatever that is for you), etc. Taking classes in something, especially if it’s activity-based like improv or learning to play a musical instrument. Again, preferably not screen-oriented, and also not passively consuming someone else’s content

Fun activities really vary from person to person, but I’m talking about things where you’re actively doing something. Watching TV/streaming/watching sports don’t count because they’re not that great for your brain. Not to say you can’t ever do these things. I know there’s some form of big sportsball thing coming up  this week or next week. I think. But don’t make them the only fun activities you ever do, or the only ones you do on a regular basis.

I remember in my networking group the insurance guy was telling us about the retreat he went to for being one of the top salespeople that year. They went to play golf, ate a steak dinner with wine tasting, and some other similar events with the whole crew and their spouses. He and his wife had a great time!

I’d shoot myself. (Which may be why I’m not a top sales performer.) If I never, for the rest of my entire life, set foot on a golf course or even a practice tee, I will consider that a life well lived. And I’m sure he would find my interests at best esoteric and at worst boring. I do what’s fun and interesting for me, and he does what’s fun and interesting for him.

The point being, if it’s an activity that you like and it requires some activity from you – mentally or creatively if not physically – it’ll support your brain and your peak performance.

Ready to improve productivity in a sustainable way?

I called my book The Rebel’s Guide to Peak Productivity because you do have to be a bit of a rebel to be sustainably productive, e.g., not in danger of burnout. Putting your brain first and self-renewing to keep your cup full and your oxygen mask on is the best way to maximize your performance, day in and day out.

Human beings did not develop through thousands of years sitting in front of computers, keeping track of thousands if not millions of units of currency, sitting in chairs designed for other people’s bodies. We did not develop with a culture that prized working as many hours of the day as possible, because that’s insane, given that we are humans (and animals!) and not computers.

So although we can do it, it’s very hard on our bodies and brains.

People in other developed countries live longer than we do on average. Part of that is because they have universal healthcare, and I also think work culture has something to do with it. Other countries don’t think that being stressed out all the time is normal, because guess what? It isn’t.

Take back control of your time. Work smarter instead of longer, so you can open up time for self-renewal even as you’re growing your business. Think about what really needs to get done, and who can do these things (or if you can automate them in some way) rather than just tackling what’s next on the list.

Recap (tl;dr):

Self-renewal is key for high performance, even though you won’t be working during that time. Support your brain instead of working the way you were taught to work.

If you need help taking back control, I partner with women business owners to get smart about their business so they can have a life they love outside the business they love. Schedule your free consultation here .

Photo by McGill Library on Unsplash.