Rest Is Not A Dirty Word

My first two years of college I was booked solid from 9:00 am to 11:00 pm Mondays through Fridays. Whether it was class, office hours, a Dance Marathon exec board meeting, or the most important of all, $2 wells drinks on Wednesday nights at our local bar, I was always doing something.

These two years I was sleeping on average five hours a night. I was perpetually tired and always nursing a cup of coffee to try and stay “on” for whatever commitment I had next. I was also sick all. the. time. I kid you not, the campus health center was my second home those first two years.

My priority was doing it all, instead of doing it well. I was so tired from lack of sleep and overcommitting that I wasn’t showing up my best in any aspect of my life.?

I went into my junior year feeling burnt out. With a heavy class load, I made the decision not to re-up my commitments outside of the classroom. Instead of club meetings after class, I filled my time with working out and seeing friends. For the first time in two years, I decided to put myself first.

Flash forward two more years to today. I’m proud to say I’m still putting myself first on a daily (or almost daily) basis. I have a few priorities that I put above all else and guard fiercely.?

Here are my non-negotiables: workout 4 days a week, at least 8 hours of sleep, and 1 mental health “free day” per month.

Those first two are self-set that I hold myself accountable for. The last one, the mental health “free day,” is something Blind Zebra holds me accountable for.

“Free days” are something that my bosses stole from their coaches Dan Sullivan and Chad Johnson at Strategic Coach. Free Days are 24-hour days where you do nothing work-related. That means no checking email, no reading posts on LinkedIn, no responding to an angry client. Nothing. Sullivan coaches to take Free Days before sprint periods, not after. The whole point of Free Days is that they make you sharper. By taking the time to unplug and disconnect from work, you press “reset” and come back more energized and ready to work.

A lot of salespeople have some workaholic tendencies. We believe that working non-stop outside of work hours will make us the most productive and most successful. Sullivan, Johnson, and Blind Zebra founder, Bryan Neale, believe the exact opposite. Working non-stop will burn you out and make you less productive in the long-run. Holding yourself accountable to taking one Free Day a month will pay off in long-term success.?

Keep telling yourself this for as long as it takes to believe it… Rest is not selfish!