Do you take time out to sit on your A.R.S.E?

Do you deliberately schedule into your days and weeks time to Accumulate Rest Strength and Energy

Last Friday afternoon I said farewell to my Uncle who has been more like a father to me for all my life. When I was born, my mother was very sick so my Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle looked after me for nearly 7 years. As a 16 year old, I returned to live with them until I was married. A few years after Donna and I were married, I made the move to Lake Macquarie and my Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle followed. I am now nearly 60, so for most of my life my Uncle has taken on the father-figure role.

I have often joked that my wife is a human being and I am a human doing. I don’t sit still well.

Rest is not a natural behaviour for me. Normally my resting time still involves activity. My uncle however, while achieving an enormous amount in his life, building over 30 pieces of fine furniture in his retirement and making countless trips to enjoy just being with extended family, really knew how to rest. He had some wrestles across his life with maintaining healthy levels of stress and had some battles with mental health, but knew to rest often as this would be key in managing equilibrium. His life had a healthy cadence and rhythm of work and rest. His example of living (not just his advice) has taught me the power there is in rest.

On the suggestion of a good friend, two years ago I read a book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer. It has impacted my thoughts around the importance of not just being efficient and effective with my time, but taking and making time to rest.

I have been reviewing and rewriting a course this year on time mapping. A time MAP stands for My Action Plan. When complete I will share some of the principle insights with you, but today I want to focus on what I am discovering about REST

R - Refresh

We need to make time to sit on our “R’s”: Relax, Replenish, Reinvigorate, Reflect, Renew, Redesign, Reestablish, Reconnect, Re Invite, Reassure  Reinforce, Redo, Reconsider, Realign, Rebirth, Review, Reinvent, Refresh, Retain, Respect, Regain, Reframe, Recover, Reflection, build Relationships  or just simply Runaway and hide from our busyness!

What is your favorite R?

E - Energise

If we never rest, we will lose our energy for our effort, and to do anything will double, even triple, the amount of effort and time. Effectiveness is when capability, competence and consistency synergise for your best possible outcome. If we are not rested properly and our energy is depleted - our outcomes are reduced. The extra outcome we were hoping for by working long and hard over 32-40 hours diminishes by the hour until each hour is producing 40% efficiency or less.

Like recharging your phone or your cordless tools, we need to take the battery out and put energy back in. Staying energised requires frequent recharges.

What energises you, and how frequently do you need a recharge? Are your energy recharges regularly scheduled into your life to make sure your equation of “Energy for effort” is in harmony?

S - Stop

We need to place our life on pause regularly. Responsibilities will not go away so we need to learn the power of a pause. We often think we can't stop. We must keep doing and keep going to be valuable and we won’t often see rest as value. The reality is we need to stop. Recovery means a return to a normal state of health. The book “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” this week has reminded me of the importance of keeping a Sabbath; a day of rest. Recreation has a purpose and that is to help us recreate a baseline of emotional health. My Sabbath is a day where I deliberately stop for the purpose of reconnecting with my creator so I will be recreated. By nature, it is very hard for me to just stop. It is a battle I have always had and I think will always have. However just because it is a battle doesn’t mean it is not a valuable lesson to learn.

T - Take Stock

It is very easy to say too many "yes's" in life. If we are too BUSY it is because we are Buried Under Saying Yes. Busyness is often an honour badge in our society. It doesn’t matter how many people I ask throughout a week, “How are you?” - the most common answer and theme is BUSY! The busy badge in many cultures is not something they would wear with pride like we do in Australia. It would be considered a sign of poor time management and a reflection of your inability to control your time and life. Take stock of all you do and ask yourself, “Do I really need to be doing this?” and, if you don’t - don’t do it!

Think about REST today and how much you need. Contemplate what you need to do regularly to Refresh, Energise, Stop and Take stock.

Rest is not a waste of time it is one of the most important aspects of time.

Something Changes when Something Changes. What is the first something, you need to change to Planalife you want to live in and include time to REST?

Yes, I have heard all the excuses, reasons, objections and clichés about rest, but I have watched the people who practice REST [not laziness] and I admire in them a quality of life and longevity which is admirable. Like many business owners, I don’t stop and rest well, but one of my major goals for life is to deliberately REST.

Don’t forget to register for our “Hello Marketing” course on Friday 27th May which will be delivered online via Zoom from 9am - 12.30pm. We also have our “How Can Your Relationship Survive your Business?” workshop coming up on Monday 30th May from 7-9pm. You can book via the links.