Time off to make up ground

In the current environment not having clear transitions from work-life to home-life can get confusing with your internal compass and inadvertently get you off course. Going from a conference call with a lot of people to answering a homework question for your kids to a strategy discussion for your clients to helping with lunch/dinner for the whole family the focus gets a bit blurred. You are struggling and reverting to task lists or other crutches more often these days to ensure you are getting everything (as defined by your cloudy mind) done. 

You are now working against the law of diminishing returns.   

It might be time to step away to clear your mind for some clarity and inspiration; get some real focus back in play. It's like the concept of meditation, let go and clear your mind of clutter and you take down the barriers to creativity and purpose.     

Not sure what it is about getting away, but I have never taken time off (out of office responder type of time off) and not come back with some really great ideas to put into practice that are on point and distinctly me.  While I have never been particularly successful with meditation, it seems to be the same concept. Let go and you end up taking down the barriers to creativity and purpose?    

When this happens, it's also important to recognize what these insights and inspirations are, just that, insights and inspiration. 

They are kind of exciting when they arrive, but can be fleeting if you don’t appreciate them. Use an app like Google Tasks on your phone to capture them when they pop into your mind so you don’t forget because they seem to come and go like dreams. (Pro tip: Give yourself a bit more of an explanation as to what you are thinking when you write this down, because the 1-2 words that make total sense when the inspiration is fresh will likely mean nothing to you when looking back a few days later, trust me.   

I’ve got some time off planned here in the coming weeks and can’t wait to see what I come back with. For those of you that are looking at the long weekend coming up, take the time to really disconnect, take a minute to reflect on Memorial Day and most importantly let me know what you come up with! Have a great holiday weekend.