Changing of the Guard
By Jason Henkel, Chief Balance Engineer
Freedom is a new compensation mechanism. Many companies are in this strange transition from "grit and grind earns money and status" to "do great work on time and in full then take the rest of the day to recover."
Neuroscience is touting the ROI on taking naps (not small). Why else would Google put napping pods all around their HQ? Is the 5 day (in a row) work week the most biologically aligned with the human biorhythm or was it just a convenient/profitable notion handed down from the wealthy industrial engine that we are still running on autopilot despite being in the new "thought work" era?
Wouldn't you rather work/produce from a well-rested mental and physical position (same number of hours perhaps), but just configured to better match your natural bio and circadian rhythms? Old-school managers of the past era(s) roll their eyes at this point and default to "save the drama for yo mama and PUSH THROUGH IT." Because they're tough right!?
Are the Navy SEALs tough? Delta Force? All elite athletes that you've ever heard of…they work hard, but they also meticulously align their workouts, practices, and performances to their recovery cycles. There are of course times when game-time and drills are not on rhythm, and they do have to roll with what is. But by far, the majority of their off time is extreme off time (real recovery). It's cyclical throughout the day, week, month, and year.
They do this so that they can be at their true "10" mark when the time to perform comes. Would you want the elites of US Special Operations to just be performing at a "7" because some rich industrialist from the turn of last century wanted to make an extra billion, or would you want them to follow the latest that we know in science, biology, and psychology to max out performance?
Would you want your employees to be operating daily at a "7" because some rule from before you were born is still in place (5-day-in-a-row work week). No, you'd want them performing at their "10!"
Am I saying end weekends!!?? No way! We're saying work better, more deliberate hours. Get twice as much done in half the time with meta-skill stacking and proper tool utilization. Be special forces elite in the office and in life. This is what we teach.
If you or your team would like to sign up for our 2 hour Balance and Productivity training to instantly double your meaningful output and find the feeling of lasting flow and optimized work life balance, please click here and say hello!
Productively Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team