Recovery Is Crucial for Sport. Why Isn't It for Work?

Oh, the work-life balance! The subject of many a pub conversation, newspaper article and team meeting – and particularly at the moment, with the increasing cultural focus on wellbeing that we are seeing. And rightly so. We live in a world shaped by the digital revolution. A world where, with increasing frequency, new and existing jobs can be done from anywhere in the world. Where personal laptops and phones are used for work and vice versa. And where for many the working day now starts on the commute rather than once arriving at the office. All these factors point towards a dangerous pattern where the 9-5 becomes the 24-7 and the weekend becomes “just a couple more emails and then Monday will be a lot easier”. I believe that in a mobile/wearables enhanced life the work-life balance as we traditionally understand it is no longer a manageable concept, and that work-life integration is a better goal. It’s critical that people refresh and revitalise, not only to spend time with family and friends but to be more vital and inspired for work. Recovery is a big concept in sport, it should be in work too. So for this blog I thought I’d share what I do to refresh and revitalise myself, and the impact I hope that it has on my teams.

I made a promise to myself last year that I would not send emails at weekends. The logic being that if my team know I won’t be sending any emails, then they don’t have to look out for them. And if they don’t get any from me then they shouldn’t have to send any either! It should lead to my team around the world spending less time checking their mobiles for emails and more time checking them for texts from friends. Don’t get me wrong, I still dip into emails as part of how I integrate work and life – we all have different work styles and people should choose how they work – but I should not be inflicting my work style on others. So I drop my emails into draft and first thing on Monday morning they are all sent. It has contributed to a definite down turn in weekend email traffic, which can only be a good thing.

I have a high energy level, whether that be for work or personal downtime. At the weekends I throw myself into lots of different stuff. I tend to find myself spending time painting, cooking and gardening. I’m a huge fan of getting stuck in and giving the vegetable garden a good weeding (pun absolutely intended). I have created a vegetable garden from scratch, although my children warn me not to talk about it as it makes me sound very middle aged! It has a therapeutic quality like nothing else, as well as giving a great sense of satisfaction. The sloe gin I made from the berries I grew wasn’t half bad either ;-)

Drawing and painting (pictures, not walls) is also a great creative outlet. We are constantly bombarded with visuals in our daily lives, and for me it’s important to spend some time creating some images as well as taking them in. So whether it’s a doodle on a napkin or a full on creative endeavour, I’d recommend spending some time satisfying your inner artistic side. It’s in there somewhere I promise.

Cooking brings together different passions of mine of chilling and immersing myself in something creative, entertaining and spending time with friends and using the vegetables I grew 50 metres from the kitchen! And the more you cook and experiment the easier and more fun it becomes.

I’m also a massive advocate of getting up and moving around, especially after a big evening cooking and eating. I run or spin twice a week and do weights once a week. It’s pretty much the only non-negotiable time in my diary now. It used to be in there every week, only to get pushed out by an urgent meeting or a call that just couldn’t wait. Now I’ve set the boundaries so that people know that can’t happen. Not to say that they aren’t welcome to come along and run with me if they want! But for the most part it’s a great opportunity to let your mind wander and see where it goes. More often than not the answer to a problem I’ve been puzzling over will emerge while I’m running, once I’ve detached myself from the office mindset. The other great thing about running is you don't need to rely on anybody else, you don't need any special equipment (apart from a good pair of trainers), and you can do it anywhere. Except of course, when like me last year during a business trip to Singapore, you realise that you have accidentally packed two left trainers. #Fail

There was a very successful Advertising Agency in the UK in the 80s which had a huge work ethic. Everyone in the agency worked 24/7 creating greats ads. But over a period of time they ran out of inspiration. They started creating ads that were spoofs of other ads. Adland was their life and their ads became stale because they did not pick up on the subtleties of everyday life - because they did not have everyday lives. Our non-work lives are also important to bring diversity of thought and style into work.

Sometimes achieving that downtime doesn't have to include activities or hobbies. It can be as simple as having a separate home screen or folder for work-related apps or giving yourself a comms blackout for a few hours at the weekend. It is as much a state of mind as it is a positive action; like most things in life, you have to want to do it in the first place.

The main thing is to remember the importance of unwinding, no matter what works for you. Nobody's boss wants them working every hour under the sun and be tired and uninspired. Everybody is on the same page here so don't feel guilty because you enjoyed yourself this weekend. You’ll be a better person for it.

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