{"id":1449,"date":"2010-08-25T09:09:51","date_gmt":"2010-08-25T13:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:36:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:36:51","slug":"down-time-is-productive-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2010\/08\/down-time-is-productive-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Down Time is Productive Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
Have you ever watched an auto race? <\/strong>Cars race around the track and race around the track at high speeds, and occasionally pull into the Pit where their Pit Crew come screaming into action.\u00a0 The car is jacked up on hydraulic lifts and instantly the crew swarm the car like ants on a sugar cookie.\u00a0 For a few minutes there is a blinding, high-speed whirlwind of non-stop activity as drills whir, bolts come off, tires are replaced, fluids are renewed, everything is wiped and tightened and checked and watered. Do you expect yourself to be on and up and fast and perfect and creative ALL THE TIME?! <\/strong>And do you beat yourself up when you’re not?\u00a0 Give it a rest!\u00a0 You are ONLY human, my friend.\u00a0 You are programmed to operate best when you take periods of rest between your intensity sessions. Have you ever watched an auto race? Cars race around the track and race around the track at high speeds, and occasionally pull into the Pit where their Pit Crew come screaming into action.\u00a0 The car is jacked up on hydraulic lifts and instantly the crew swarm the car like ants on a sugar cookie.\u00a0 … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,11],"tags":[180,317,318],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThat level of intensity is how many organizations expect their teams to operate<\/strong> — at high speed, with high efficiency, attending to a million details per minute, just like that pit crew.
\nWhat some organizations or leaders forget, however, is that after the pit crew has done their high-speed work, the car pulls out and goes back onto the track, and the pit crew gets to take a breath. <\/strong>And after they recover, they move into preparation mode for the next time their driver has to pull off for servicing.
\nWhat would happen if a pit crew had to be constantly ON<\/strong>, operating at their highest level of speed and intensity ALL the time?\u00a0 They’d burn out.\u00a0 There’d be mistakes.\u00a0 Things would be missed.\u00a0 There would be accidents.
\nFact is, the down time IS productive time. <\/strong> The down time is when the pit crew analyzes their performance under pressure.\u00a0 It’s when they take time to appreciate a job well done and identify ways they can improve their output the next time.\u00a0 It’s part of the cycle, the yin\/yang of work:\u00a0 preparation, then performance.\u00a0 There is a time for each<\/p>\nIt’s the same for you.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nOrganizations that don’t know how to give renewal time to their people are failing their teams. <\/strong> They are probably ending up with a workforce that is constantly on the edge of burnout.
\nIndividuals that don’t take time to renew end up in the same place <\/strong>— burned out, anxious, unhappy.
\nSo take a breath! <\/strong>Relax every so often.\u00a0 Give your own system — or your team — a chance to balance out performance with preparation and renewal.\u00a0 It’s the cycle of life, it’s the cycle of work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"