[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]Spring break is typically a great time to recharge one's batteries, but how good are you at using holidays to truly free yourself from the stresses of work? As the owner and CEO of a company, I can find an endless supply of excuses about why I can't afford to take a break, all in the name of success. But we all have lives outside work, and isn't it equally important to be successful at that?[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]Since starting St. Louis Staffing eighteen years ago, I've been determined to abide by my principle of running my company, not letting my company run me. In 2007 I put this principle to the test by taking an entire month away from work.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]One month.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]Zero contact.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]No work.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]I spent time with my family, ate every meal at home with them, took a nice, long vacation. . . and my company survived. I had invested three months preparing and delegating, I had explained my plan to my customers and ensured they were in the best of hands with my incredible staff, and everything proceeded without a hitch. The experience proved to me what I had witnessed by watching my older brother throughout his career: that you truly can achieve a work-life balance if you take a disciplined approach to it.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]In the last year I've increased my commitment to such balance through my work with Strategic Coach. Through what founder Dan Sullivan calls "The Entrepreneurial Time System," I've learned to divide my time into three types of days: Focus Days, Buffer Days, and Free Days. Focus Days are high-performance, high-intensity days when I'm completely 'on,' meeting with customers, executing projects and doing as much that's in line with my Unique Ability as possible. As you can imagine, Focus Days are very taxing and also very rewarding. Buffer Days are the periods spent planning, prepping and organizing. I like to think of them as my "CEO Days," when I meet with staff, strategize and gather resources needed for Focus Days and Free Days.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]Free Days are twenty-four hour periods, beginning and ending at midnight, when there is no work, no thinking about work, no talking about work, no reading about the industry, nothing. I like to spend my weekends as Free Days, but I have an additional goal of one extra Free Day a week and four full weeks of Free Days a year. That's 176 out of 365 Free Days a year. Sound impossible? Strategic Coach recommends that one schedule one's Free Days first--and only then schedule Focus Days and Buffer Days. Because the fact is, Free Days feed Focus Days and Buffer Days. If you think of it as recharging your batteries, then Free Days are the energy source for everything else.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]Sticking to such a schedule isn't easy. It's tempting to cave in and answer an email that seems pressing, or squeeze in a quick phone call. But I make sure my customers understand the importance of my commitment to Free Days, and they are always glad to work with my other staff for answers to immediate questions. Bottom line: my company is thriving, and they see the results of that.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]I realize this kind of discipline isn't easy to accomplish, and I have certainly progressed unevenly in my pursuit of work-life balance. It's not about perfection, but about moving toward an ideal. Even those who don't have total control over their work schedules can make the most of the time off that they do have by spending those days as true Free Days. It's a matter of taking charge of the process and not just stumbling through without ever truly getting a break. The ultimate result for me and so many others has been higher levels of productivity and success, at work and at home.[/font]
[font=Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif]And don't our families deserve to have us be as focused when we're with them on Free Days as our customers deserve on Focus Days?[/font]
