Break the Routine

This entry was posted on November 19, 2009 by Mike Robertson. It was tagged with Productivity.

Take a Break!

Here's a simple tip that I've used over the years to increase my productivity:

Do absolutely, positively, whatever it takes to break your routine for one week.

It's amazing - as soon as I break my routine up a bit, my creativity soars. All of a sudden, taking a step back or away from the things that are constantly in my face afford me some perspective.

For some people this could mean taking a vacation.

Maybe it's just taking a different path to or from work.

Quite often for me, this happens when I travel for a seminar.

Once I start to break those patterns, I immediately gain some clarity or insight into something that's been bugging me.

Here are two practical examples:

1 - When I traveled to Australia this past February, I had almost two full weeks to reflect on the first six months of IFAST: What we were doing right, what we were doing wrong, and most importantly how to improve it. Obviously it helps being surrounded by great minds like Simon and Paul from Centrality, but the "space" helped me clear my head and really get focused on the tasks at hand.

2 - This week, I'm taking a week off from training and the gym to focus on some projects that I've been putting off. Most importantly, I'm working on a presentation that examines the differences between single-leg and bilateral lifts.

If I was in the gym everyday, or in my normal routine, there's no way I'd be able to get this done. But by affording myself some free time, and lifting the restrictions that a routine imposes, I think I'm going to pull something together that's not only insightful, but hopefully improves the coaching/training profession as a whole.

So that's my productivity tip for the day - you guys have anything you'd like to share? If so, leave it in the comments section below!

All the best

Mike

Comments For This Entry

Posted by Pete Brown at 11:58AM on November 19, 2009

Mike while reading this I am in Maui taking a break. My goals for Maui were to hike the Haleakala peak down to the Ocean (20 miles DOWN!), and to get through Functional Strength Coach 3. So far its been fantastic, 7 hours for the hike of a lifetime and a day to let my shins recover watching FSC 3.

Going to try and pull some strings to catch your presentation in Chicago.

Well back to the beach!

Posted by Otto at 08:44PM on November 20, 2009

I agree with you methods. I actually have the luxury of taking a different route to work every day. I work five miles from home, sometimes I just have someone drop me off and run back home. Other times take different streets randomly.

I incorporate a week of deloading or just plain doing nothing every so often, that's something new and is great. Training is no longer stressful. I actually have a lot of fun.

The one thing that has really helped me out is that I no longer feel guilty for not going to the gym. :-) Sometimes just taking a deliberate slow walk just for the heck of it spurs my creativity and regenerates my enthusiasm for life.

Keep up the good work.