OPT FOR OPTIMAL!

This article is not about my Triathlon training, but if you want to know about my observation between my practice sessions and work, grab your coffee and spend the next 3 minutes reading.

I have been training for my first triathlon (T-100) for the past few months now - Practicing technique in swimming, cycling indoors while waiting for the weather to get better to conquer the roads, but the most training was me logging in the kilometers in running. After running more than 120km in May, and having sore muscles, and a slight injury, my trainer immediately spotted the issue, which was my cadence, as it was relatively low. Cadence – also known as stride length – is the number of steps per minute you take, whether you’re running, jogging or fast walking. If your cadence is too high, it leads to a foot or ankle injury. If the cadence is too low, then you are over-striding leading to another type of injury.

So what does all that have to do with work? It’s all about optimal use of your innate resources for a measured optimal result. Makes sense. No?

Okay- Let me put it in context of our day-to-day work routine.

You get to your unending daily To Do List at the office and try at a “sprint” to go through them all at once. That in the world of running is extremely high cadence. It is as if you are sprinting a long distance race. And that, even the Olympians, cannot sustain. This leads to a burnout.

So you then decide to complete the same number of tasks, by cutting corners. And that means long strides which is very low cadence - that also leads to the same result.

In a successful workplace, cadence plays a crucial role, it is the rhythm or flow of work – the pattern of activities that structure our days, weeks, and months. This structure, like the number of steps you take while running, provides a sense of order and predictability that can significantly impact our productivity and well-being.

By establishing the right flow of daily tasks and activities, you create a more productive, collaborative, and fulfilling workstream. So, the next time you're feeling overwhelmed or lost at work, take a step back and consider your cadence. A little structure to your daily life can go a long way.

Recalibrating your mind - metaphorically your steps - will help you immensely in getting things done and signed off as you move on to the next challenge. You may be thinking it’s another euphemism for time-management and you may be right. But in truth, you’re not! ?

Effectively, it’s calculating what and how many things you can get done and achieved within a given timeline; step at a time, without the overkill or the corner-cutting. Your reward is a multitude of givings: For one, this becomes a habit and your optimal output will be tenfold.

Believe me, you’ll never ever “run” the same way again!

#cadence #work #optimal #burnout #timemanagement