Three Necessary Actions to Rest at Home to Prepare You for the Road

We’re on part three of a six-part series on how to leverage being home right now for an extended period of time to prepare you for the road.

Or to say it another way, Leveraging Home Life to Improve Road Life.

The first article in the series focused on energy habit one of MOVE and how to stand more (think up on your feet not down on your butt), walk more (think forward not just still), run more (think cardio and getting your heart rate up), and lift more (think strength training).

The second article focused on energy habit two of FUEL and how to leverage the MTHC (Make the Healthiest Choice) Formula to continually hydrate (think early and often), eat clean and green (think fewer ingredients and less processed and more dark greens and vegetables), and snack strategically (think planned energy boost). 

In this article, we’re focusing on energy habit three: REST.

I don’t know about you but ever since this health pandemic has hit, I feel like I’m fighting more than ever to find time to rest and the kind of rest that actually recharges my body and my mind.

My wife is now at home as a school teacher with all her responsibilities, my kids are doing online learning with the help of their mother as well, and I have an energy-filled 4-year old (still don’t know where that kid gets his energy).

It’s getting harder and harder to wake up in the morning having the energy I want to have to not only do my best work but help my wife and spend time with my kids.

But I’ve gotta figure out how to make the most of the hand I’ve been dealt with now at home - good or bad, with all the changes and distractions.

Some days feel like the movie, Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray wakes up and every day is exactly the same day.

Rest is a hot topic, yet I feel so few are actually implementing what we’re reading and hearing especially as a road warrior.

But it’s possible and let’s find out how in some very practical ways we can implement now that will help us when we transition back to road life.

Three Necessary Actions to Rest at Home to Prepare You for the Road:

Action One - SLEEP

Key Phrase - Improve Then Increase

In the Buckley house, it feels like we’re getting to bed later, sleeping in more, and our days are just blending together. It’s not too uncommon to hear someone say, “what day is it today and I don’t mean the date?!”

And we value sleep big time in the Buck Fam!

We NEVER make the bedroom a place of punishment or send the kids to bed early as a form of punishment. Why? We want them to understand SLEEP is a good thing!

Our kids' favorite bedtime book is Snoozby and the Great Big Bedtime Battle because it teaches kids the importance of sleep. It’s written by Terry Cralle, energy habit three subject matter expert.

But everyone is off schedule especially with a recent scary accident in which Buck Kid #4 was burned badly and we had to see a burn specialist. 10 days in and he’s doing much better, but we’re up later with him to give his pain meds, clean the burn area, and put on ointments which take about 30 minutes in total and has to be done before bed then soak in.

All that to say, we had finally landed a better schedule a few weeks into the pandemic, and now we’re out of whack again.

And this is where the key phrase for sleep, Improve Then Increase is of the utmost importance.

Sleep is your biggest performance enhancer on the road without a doubt. How many times did not only the world look better after a good night of sleep, but you were on top of your game as a result of sleep?

The same is true at home and especially now that we’re in a new rhythm of always being around everyone, extra responsibilities for parents with online learning, adults with more video calls than ever, and on and on and on.

But how do we improve then increase our sleep at home to prepare us for the road?

Here are three suggestions:

Set a Consistent Bed Time and Stick to It!

Just like kids need a consistent bedtime, so do we as adults. It’s SO easy to fall into the mindset of “finally time to myself” and get lost binge-watching whatever for who knows how long or scrolling social media.

We both know where THAT leads and it’s feeling “sharp as a bowling ball” the next morning.

Be realistic here but stick to the time. It’s critical you get consistent sleep and that starts with a consistent bedtime to adhere to on your own.

Create a Bedtime Routine

Once you have that set time, let’s say 10:30 pm, then figure out your routine that will help prepare you for bed (and hint: it’s NOT being on your phone and/or with the tv on and falling asleep on the couch or in your bed with the tv on and phone in hand!).

In the Buck Fam house, it looks like this:

• Turn the house lights down
• Turn the temperature lower
• Put on comfy clothes
• Watch a show for a set period of time
• I read then do a sleep meditation to help shut my brain down and my wife gets whatever she needs to ready for tomorrow
• Lights out and my wife and I pray for a moment before we sleep

Nothing magical, but it helps us to prepare our bodies and minds for sleep - our biggest performance enhancer.

Create an Ideal Sleep Environment

For us, this meant the following:

• Investing in a better mattress, sheets, and pillows - once we did, we so regretted not making these changes so much sooner
• Making sure our bedroom was dark and quiet
• Buying high-end sleepwear - we use and Elite Road Warrior promotes Dep Slepwear

I met the founder of DepSlepwear, Glenn Paradise, last year at the National Sleep Foundation Sleep Show, and I was skeptical about the product until I tried it. Imagine that. Now, I promote the product everywhere I go because it works. We’ve even talked about making an Elite Road Warrior branded hoodie.

• Buying a BioStrap device that helps monitor the quality and quantity of our sleep

It gives diagnostics such as wake time / light sleep / deep sleep / resting HR / how many times I woke up / sleep latency (how long it took me to fall asleep) / total time in bed / and then offers a sleep score.

The Biostrap and Hoodie both help me to IMPROVE whatever sleep I’m getting before we begin to INCREASE our sleep. I use both on the road and at home.

I bought a DepSlepwear hoodie and Biostrap for my wife as well and she absolutely loves both tools.

Once our quality of sleep had increased by using these resources and improving our mattress and sleep environment, we began to add 15 minutes to our sleep by keeping our same wake-up time for consistency but just went to bed 15 minutes earlier which is very doable until we eventually have an 8hr 30min sleep window to allow for sleep latency and wake times.

Remember, Improve the quality of sleep you’re already getting and then Increase that time until you feel at full energy every morning.

NOW is the time to develop strong sleep habits so when you get back on the road, you’re not starting from scratch, especially knowing sleep is the biggest performance enhancer on the road!

Action Two - BREAKS

Key Phrase - Move the Body Rest the Mind

Out of the three, this should be the easiest one to implement right away - in theory.

Let me explain. 

It’s not THAT hard to take a few seconds or minutes to unplug. 

But on any given day that I have Zoom call after Zoom call then phone calls to return, entering notes into CRM, finishing that proposal or presentation for the next call, I very easily can find myself going for hours with little to no margin in between and having to do video off and go on mute just to go to the bathroom!

Not cool man.

I don’t even do this on the road but have been doing it now at home - all-of-the-time.

Until recently.

I’ve created Break Blocks in my day that are set appointments where I don’t schedule anything. Why?

To move the body and rest the mind.

For a few moments throughout my day, I need to “shut the thinker down” and move - change positions more than staying still on a video call. 

Believe it or not, my body is all the tighter having to be still during a video call which is different from the movement I would have during an in-person meeting.

So, all the more important it is for you to not only take a couple of breaks throughout your day, but also to move by stretching, walking, anything to awaken your body from a “still coma."

In the Elite Road Warrior book, I outline three different types of breaks:

1. Micro Breaks (think seconds) - stand and stretch/stare out the window to rest your eyes/change positions
2. Mini Breaks (think minutes) - walk to the bathroom or to refill your water / take a quick lap around the office (home office now or house) or go outside to catch your breath / a quick meditation
3. Macro Breaks (think chunks) - 15-30 minutes where you actually unplug from everything to move the body and rest the mind - go for a real walk (without checking email or social media) / eat a snack

Another bad pattern I’ve fallen into during this Stay at Home Act is working during my lunch. 

Huh?! I would NEVER do that on the road unless it was a lunch meeting but there was a social side to the meeting which didn’t include a screen and introversion.

I’m learning now to leverage my lunchtime to actually have lunch with my wife only - she has the kids eat before us so we have a break to breakdown the morning and talk about the afternoon. 

It’s the relational connection I need and also forces me to be off my phone and laptop. It took some time to align our schedules but it’s working for us.

I then try and go for a walk around the neighborhood just to clear my mind and get in some non-work movement.

I’m not going to lie, an actual lunch break is and continues to be a challenge for me. I eat too fast, I’m tempted to look at email or social media. But it defeats the purpose of a true break. Again, I have better road habits and am usually fine at working from home when nobody is home, but I have to learn to make the most of the current situation and constantly adjust and improve.

Remember, a break is defined as Move the Body, Rest the Mind.

Take the time to shut the thinker down and make that body move of yours. 

How do you know it worked?

Because of how much more productive you are coming out of a break especially to start your afternoon.

And my biggest productivity boost? Late afternoon when I take a short walk (usually outside) then take a Planned Energy break to eat a healthy snack that gives me energy so I can finish my workday strong.

Action Three - DOWNTIME

Key Phrase - Time to Be, NOT to Be On

Of the three, this is by far my hardest one.

I have an introverted side of me which only people that know me closely truly understand.

I enjoy people, speaking and training, and of course, a great party.

But I also get drained with “always being on” and right now there’s no place to go.

I can’t go to a ballgame.

I can’t go to Barnes-N-Noble and get lost for an hour.

I’m always around people - the same people. And man, I love my family, but I’m missing some normal downtime rhythms that were a bigger deal to me now that I’ve lost them for a time.

So, my wife and I have agreed to give each other an hour or so each day for our own downtime (time to be, not to be on). We can’t ask the other person to do something or listen to them or help the kids. 

My wife will go to the grocery store to get just one item that we don’t need and take an hour to get it. Not a big deal. It’s her downtime. She’ll lock herself in our room - no questions asked. She’ll go for a 2nd walk - for a very long time. But she’s also helping the kids with their homework when I’m the PE teacher!

I will put my Bose Noise-Canceling Headphones in so I can read a book or just write with no interruptions. Not a big deal. It’s my downtime. I’m also watching The Last Dance, a ten-part series on the last year of Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls with my hour of downtime (and yes, I watch each episode more than once).

The point is getting creative and making time for downtime. You may or may not need buy-in from a spouse on this one, especially if you have little humans in your house that bear your name, eat your food, and look/sound/act a lot like you.

Here are four simple but needed steps to make downtime happen:

1. Find 2 or 3 downtime activities that will allow you to have “time to be, not to be on” - you may have to think outside of the box on this one
2. Get buy-in with your spouse or anyone else that will help you guard that time
3. Maximize every moment of your own downtime - be prepared when you take that time
4. Respect and guard the other person’s downtime like it was your own - If “I’m on” with the kids, then I use this time to play with them and make the most of the time. 

The overall purpose of downtime is to put back into you what the day has taken out of you.

And you may need to fight for downtime more than ever at home right now. But it’s worth every minute of it.

Let’s Make This Happen

Our goal with REST is to leverage the Strategic Resting Formula so we can do our best work and be the person we want to be.

Your action items may be big like buying a new mattress, or small like buying new sheets or a better pillow. It may be purchasing DepSlepwear hoodie and Biostrap for you and/or your spouse.

You may need to start taking an actual lunch break.

You might need to follow the downtime steps.

Take action to get the rest now at home to prepare you for the road.

For more information on Elite Road

Warrior, visit EliteRoadWarrior.com