There’s no shortage of blogs and posts on the importance of unplugging, of making time and slack in your schedule, and finding time to take care of yourself and your family--all true, all good things, all needed.
My personal and observational experience is that marketing leaders today are really bad at this as it turns out. Sometimes it’s because we’re overly busy as Ryan Hanley likes to point out (and he’s not wrong at all). Sometimes it’s because we’re overwhelmed with competing tasks and deadlines from our boss or the board. Whatever it is for you, it’s something that’s ultimately getting in the way of achieving a better result and outcome for you and your teams.
I look at the idea of creating slack or taking breaks a little differently these days. Not that unplugging and playing basketball with my son isn’t awesome and needed and super fulfilling. It totally is. But doing something different and resting your brain from its normal activity actually helps me be a better marketer as well. You know what does it for me? Mowing and lawn and weeding the yard. I’m not a fan of either task, but they can’t be done with a phone in my hand and they allow me to focus my energy on something different than I do for 50-60 hours each week. And creating that break actually gives my brain time to recharge and think and go back through the catalog of experiences, articles, conversations, podcasts--whatever--that are stuck inside and bring something forward that maybe I hadn’t considered before.
For me the importance of taking a break isn’t just about having a blast with my family and friends--it allows the time and space for me to attack the problem more strategically and confidently. I’d ask you to find that slack time in your schedule to do the same. It could be during the week or on the weekend; on vacation or on the drive home where you listen to a totally random Spotify playlist. Do whatever works for you. And don’t think you need the full day--try an hour on a walk with your phone back at home.
Your mind will thank you and I bet at some point your team will too.
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