Motivation: Effectiveness
Top performers are motivated by the goal of optimal performance, the ability to sustainably, most effectively meet or exceed the need with quality results. They recognize the difference between perfect, peak, and optimal performance.
Unrealistically seeking perfection makes it far more difficult to deliver a quality result that satisfies or surpasses the need. Peak performance is at the right time is important but it is not sustainable.
Allowing emotional pressure to push you to not take a break even when body and mind are clearly in need, is counterproductive. Think of the last time you were in a time crunch, feeling that you have to push on, no time for a break. Did you make mistakes, feel frustration rising, end up having to stop and come back to do rework?
We tend to forget that back in the 19th and early 20th centuries the rise of the eight-hour day and workplace health and safety regulation showed that productivity and quality increased when workers worked fewer hours, under supportive working conditions, and had periodic breaks. The benefits more than offset the perceived costs.
Take a Breather
The underlying causes of emotional drives to over-perform and to be a perfectionist are complex. Eliminating or reducing their impact requires persistent self-exploration overtime to break old habits. The causes are beyond the scope of this article. But there is a short-term, practical hope. Take Breathers.
Maybe there is no time for a 15-minute break, an hour for lunch, or a couple of days (weeks or months) off. But what about a minute or two?
A Breather is a mini-break that treats the symptoms of emotionally driven work, even if you don’t work on the causes.
How
The Breather is a moment of mindfulness coupled with a breathing technique. It is a stepping back to get centered and recover your focused attention.
You can do it for less than a minute, but I suggest one to three minutes (you can set a timer or not). Do it right where you are, at your desk, in the studio, in the kitchen. You can even do it at a meeting, though keep it real short, maybe ten seconds and just one breath, so it goes unnoticed by anyone around you.
As you practice Breathers, the time required to feel the results – calm, energized, ready – gets shorter. After a while a few seconds is all you need.
Here is the technique.
- Stop.
- Sit or stand comfortably erect.
- Eyes open, not looking at anything in particular
- Feel the sensations of your body, the air against your skin.
- When you are settled, take two, three, or four conscious breaths.
- With each out-breath think AHH and imagine unnecessary tension leaving your body,
- With each in-breath take in and circulate clear, bright, invigorating, healing energy.
When you are done, decide what to do next - go back to your task, start another, continue with a longer break, ..., whatever makes the most sense.
When
There are three ways to know when to stop and take your Breathers. You can
- Set an alarm to remind you
- Take a Breather as soon as you sense tension or unease arising.
- Take one whenever you have nothing else to do - for example waiting in a line or for an elevator.
Don't wait until you "need" the break.
Many people get so caught up in their activities that they forget to take the Breather. The alarm approach is a good way to remember and to create a practice of stepping back from the moment-to-moment whirlwind. Its drawback is that the alarm can interrupt you when you are flowing well in a task. Consider it a training approach.
With practice, stepping back becomes natural, your mindful awareness tells you when it is time to wake up.
