Here's a story that illustrates how taking the time to refresh yourself will result ultimately in increased productivity and effectiveness. It will help the overall quality of your work to improve greatly.
The story is about two men who were racing each other to see which one could saw down their tree the fastest. We'll call them Charlie and Bob for the sake of discussion. As they began to race, both began to make significant progress. But all of the sudden, Charlie took a break from cutting his tree. But Bob would never take any breaks. He would continue to go after it, fast and furious. He went nonstop without taking any rest at all. On the other hand, Charlie continued to take his breaks at regular intervals. But Bob continued relentlessly without any breaks.
All of the sudden, Charlie's tree came tumbling down. He had won the race! In the meanwhile, Bob was still sawing away, but his tree had still not come down. Bob was puzzled as to why he didn't win. Because he knew that Charlie took breaks and he didn't. Bob actually had put more reps in with his saw.
So why did Charlie beat Bob? What was his secret? When Charlie took his periodic pauses, he sharpened his saw! And for that reason, when he did resume his work, he was more effective because he was cutting with a sharpened saw. Bob on the other hand, was hard at work and never stopped sawing. But he was sawing with a dull saw. While Bob worked harder, Charlie worked smarter.
When you don't take the time to rest, you can keep going and going and going. But what will invariably happen is that you will be cutting with a dull saw. But if you take time off and rest on a regular basis, you will increase your effectiveness and productivity. You will be more focused and alert. You will handle your work with more precision and efficiency. You will think more clearly and be laser sharp. You will make better judgments and decisions.
So take at least a day off a week to relax and refresh yourself. Step away from all your work, you're not that important. The world will be there when you get back..
Taking time to rest is challenging for me because I love my work so much. So I get myself in situations where I'm thinking that I'm cutting with a sharp saw, but unbeknownst to me, I'm really working in actuality with a dull blade. It's not something I'm consciously aware of, but I have to consciously purpose to make myself aware. But I really don't want to have to think about or remember to do it on a regular basis. So what do I do? I'm going to consult with my wife (she is my helper by the way) and pick a day that will be my day off. It's not going to be easy, but I must discipline myself on that day not to do any physical work and to take my mind off of work. If you're doing this already, great. But if you're not, I encourage you to get started.
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