Is It Time to Play?
January 3, 2008
When life gets hairy (you know what I mean) – even really hairy – a lot of times the feeling is that we need to hunker down and stick with it. However, sometimes the best thing is to take a break. Breathe. Have some fun. Lighten the load.
When do you know when it’s time to take a break? Here are five clues:
1. What you are doing is not working. If you are trying harder, doing more, learning more, searching more or struggling more then try the opposite. Let go. Darwin once said that he tried for months to ‘figure out’ the riddle he was trying to solve, and once he ‘gave up’ and did something leisurely, the answer came to him quickly. Thomas Edison often took naps when he hit a brick wall and would awake to answers.
2. What you are doing isn’t getting the results you want. Okay, try to contain your laughter here, but who among us hasn’t hit our head against the wall over and over again occasionally? When what you are doing isn’t yielding the results you want take a break, call someone else to walk you through it to see if you see something else, or start from another point and begin again. If all else fails, go bowling. Or to the movies. Maybe hit the video games?
3. You are grumpy, frumpy and slumpy. You know when you get there. It’s that place where you don’t feel like yourself. Some people are snippy others are distant – all are not acting like themselves. Take a detour from the land of slouch and get off the couch (even if that’s where you want to retreat – and often it is when you feel like this). Do something different. Been dreaming about a Harley? Take a test drive. Thinking about the great outdoors and fresh air? Take a hike. Miss the personal connection – call some friends and connect!
4. There are less referrals and more complaints. I don’t know how to explain it, but when I do a ‘diagnostic’ consultation with people I’ve noticed that when people are in a funk, so are their clients. Or more accurately – so are their client relations! If you’ve noticed that it seems like every time you pick up the phone there’s a problem and if referrals are dwindling, it’s time to kick back over a long weekend doing something that fills the ol’ juice back up. When you come back, things with other around you will be much improved – I can *almost* guarantee it!
5. There’s less green in the bank. This is kind of like #4 but with benefits. When you are overworked and overextended, you’ll see it everywhere – even your bank balance. Try taking a full day off DURING THE WEEK to break the cycle. A special client and I do this together once every other month and we have NEVER done this when we haven’t come back to NEW business and MORE money in the mail! Try it – you might like it! Road rules: Be sure to UNPLUG completely (no cell phones, email and the like) and do something that really is fun and that you’ve been wanting to do!
The most successful people I know work at what feels like play to them. They enjoy their days and success beats a path to the door.
Feeling inspired? Pull out that calendar NOW and schedule a date with yourself. What have you been putting off that would light your fire and trip your trigger? Do it!
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