

Fear of Failure Prevents Minimal, but Necessary Time Off - SparksZilla
http://andysparks.co/post/34718564879/week-4-fear-of-failure-prevents-minimal-but-necessary

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jevanish
Check out the book, "The Power of Full Engagement." The short of it is that
yes, you do need a break. You'll be more productive managing your time and
doing important things (like occasionally relaxing and being sure to exercise
regularly) than just trying to sit at your computer working 24/7.

Also, don't look at breaks as a major unplug or nothing at all. Our brains
work in 90-120 minute cycles (similar to our sleep cycles) and so building in
short breaks (even only 5-10 minutes) can be incredibly refreshing and make
you more productive than if you cranked through a whole day.

The book is no BS either; the authors have helped Fortune 500 leaders and
professional athletes rise to the top of their game (like helping a tennis
player become #1 in the World).

Happy to talk more some time as I'm just wrapping the book up and starting to
apply some of the lessons from it. It's helping me understand why for instance
my most productive hour of my week is the hour after i keep home from my
soccer games and how to have more heavy execution sessions like it.

Don't feel guilty. It's about working smart and hard.

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kclick
I agree and empathize with this completely. There's a lot of pressure to be
online 24/7, always cranking, always building, always increasing
'productivity.'

But part of business (and the advantage for so many successful companies) is
creative thinking and the ability to see an opportunity that others don't.
Stepping back and 'turning off' is critical to the creative thinking process:
it's the 'incubation' stage that leads to 'illumination' or the Aha-moment:
[http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/11/how-to-think-
creativel...](http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2011/11/how-to-think-
creatively.html)

So next time you feel like a slacker for having a beer with friends, know that
you might actually be on the verge of a breakthrough.

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justincpollard
An important topic, Andy! Related: if you're motivated (positively) enough to
work that extensively, that's a gift unto itself. Take a step back and think
about working just 8 hours a day at anything. How would you feel if that's
something you didn't love? How would you feel doing something you didn't love
for even 4 hours a day? 2 hours a day?

If you love what you do and are motivated to do that thing for such long
hours, more power to you!

