Time Off is NOT a Reward; Take a Free Day

byLori3030

593 followers

9 years ago

We all need time off from work to either "recuperate" or 'recharge", depending on your point of view. A "Free Day" is a 24 hour period from midnight to midnight during which anything related to work is banned. This means, absolutely no looking at your work emails, no work conversations, no catching up on industry readings, nothing work, zip, nada, zilch. Buddies coming over to visit, no work talk-I can hear the cries now- I can't do that, no email? no reading? or even talking about it? I can almost feel some of you convulsing at the thought of not checking emails or texts, thinking what if clients call, what if I have this deal going on...what if, what if,... I can't this or that?? What if you end up in the hospital because of exhaustion? What if your are so run down that your body triggers the switch on for a life long chronic disease (Hello- that was me!). Yes it is a work vacuum. To be truthful it is not a full 24 hours since your sleeping hours don't count, and then the hours are based on 80% of your waking hours. So if you are awake for 18 hours then about 14 hours must be "Free" time. And it can be any day of the week you like. Many people who have the luxury to do it, take Fridays and do their shopping and errands during the quieter time, when parking is ample and the lines are short, and then work one weekend day instead.

Free Days are so important because unlike traditional thinking on "days off", they are based on a completely different theory of the purpose of time off. Current culture believes that that when you work hard you will be rewarded with time off or a vacation. Problem with this theory is that by the time you take that vacation, or day off, you are worn out and exhausted. A lot of people think it's a badge of honor to say they haven't taken a vacation in years or that they worked 60 hours last week- to me that is not something to be proud of, but rather, worried about. Time off is not a reward, its a necessity!. Free Days are based on the principle that you absolutely need to recharge your batteries weekly to face the days AHEAD- to unclutter your mind, remove any thoughts of work, get respite from any stress, and to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for any upcoming obstacles you may have to deal with. When you look at it as a necessity versus a reward or badge of honor, it becomes clearer how important a day it is. I'm used to working on Saturday mornings so my Free Day is Sunday. It's amazing how much clearer my head is on Monday and how refreshed I am and ready to face the week. Some of my best ideas and solutions have come to me during these times or on the days when I go back to work. Those essential Free Days provide me with a fresh new perspective that was contained in my subconscious mind but with all that mind numbing clutter in there- could not come to the surface.

Truth of the matter is you can't afford not to have a Free Day. Now a Free Day does not mean you are relieved of house chores or doing your accounting (ick!), but it does mean that your brain and thoughts are not focused one iota on your work or any work related issues. What this does is give your mind a complete respite from any obstacles or challenges you may be facing, any stress (good or bad) over a project you may have, or just from the daily grind of the 9-5. By doing this you free up your mind to create new thoughts and novel ideas and solutions that your conscious brain never could. You allow your subconscious mind the freedom and the space to create the kind of brilliant ideas that usually come to you in a flash, like when you have "aha" moments. These cannot happen if your brain is so full of negativity, worry and fear, or just plain stress that a normal workday may have. Albert Einstein once said, and I paraphrase, "You cannot create a solution using the same mind that is facing (or created) the problem". So it's only by clearing out the mind clutter that our brains are free to roam uncharted areas (of the subconscious) and where unique and inspiring ideas can form.

The idea of a Free Day, is taken from the Strategic Coach Program which is world renowned 3 yr Program for Entrepreneurs, which accepts only the Top 10% of Entrepreneurs in the world. It completes two other kinds of days in the week Buffer Days and Focus Days. Too long to be discussed in this blog, suffice it to say that Buffer Days are preparation and small task days where you perform tasks that need to be done but are not revenue producing and Focus Days are for work that you expect will generate income within the next 90 days. It is a little difficult to get started on your own using this unique Entrepreneurial Time Management "System" (ETMS) because it is so different for everyone, it has to be completely personalized and there is a process to go through to get to your final categorization of tasks. An activity could be Focus for one and Buffer for another. Once you have mastered how it works in your life, your quality of life will begin to improve dramatically but even more, you will be more productive, work less and make more. My coaching clients are usually pretty comfortable with the System in about 4 weeks, and they LOVE it!

I can guarantee you that if you implement this one change in your life, that is, making sure you take at least 1 Free Day, you would see a dramatic change in the overall quality of it. You will work less and make more, and the days you are at work will be incredibly productive. Even if you do not work or are a stay at home Mom or Dad, this System gives you complete control over your time, not the other way around which is how most people live now. In turn, will sense a difference in your stress level, ability to generate new ideas, increased confidence and more, generally within a month. The benefits are cumulative so the more you use it the better you get at it, especially if you are using the entire ETM System with all 3 different day categories. However, the Free Day, is the best place to start and if you were going to master just one day, this one would be it.

When I learned this system during the Strategic Coach Program over 10 years ago, it completely changed my life, I achieved and still enjoy, a quality of life and work/life balance I never really thought I could have. I have never been so productive and in control over my time. In fact, I can plan my weeks for at least a year in advance because I have established a routine and know how many Buffer, Focus and Free Days I need each week. I can even make appointments without my agenda based on the day of the week.

Imagine how good you would feel to be in completely in control of your time and not have your time control you?

Enjoy your next Free Day and then please come back and comment on how you are doing and share your experience with others. I will reply to every comment personally.

Namaste (or "may the force be with you")

If you would like more information on the ETMS, Strategic Coach, my 6 week Life in Balance Program or anything else please write me at lori@lorikarpman.com.