Facilitate Means to Make Easy
Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you). The next time you have the urge to utter “I don’t have time for this,” stifle it. Usually the things we think we don’t have time for are precisely the things we should most be doing. Like taking some time off. Getting up and out from behind our desks. Turning our gaze onto something besides an electronic screen.
Trust me. Time is short. You don’t have time not to do this.
Chances are you spend too much time sitting at your computer. It’s making you stupid. Seriously. It’s also shaving years off your life. Seriously. This is not just about resolving to exercise more. It’s bigger than that.
An emerging field of inactivity studies reveals that some of us just naturally move more than others. And this extra movement makes a huge difference. I’ll leave you to read the research in the two linked articles above for yourself (or check out Stop Your Business From Ruining Your Health ), but here’s what one of the lead researchers in the field, Dr. James Levine, has to say: Excessive sitting is a lethal activity.
The good news is we can tinker with our system just a tad to alter our natural patterns. Yes, here’s where we get out from behind our desks! Not only may it improve your memory, help you to think more clearly and give you a longer life, it will also improve your work productivity and performance. Who doesn’t have time for this?
It turns out the old management by wandering around philosophy has multiple benefits. When you wander in an unstructured manner just to talk with others in your organization you create energizing opportunities for personal, face-to-face engagement. In Managers – Get Out From Behind Your Desk! we learn there’s a lot to be said for just being present. And what can be said for being effective as a manager and leader could also be said about being successful as a parent, spouse, partner or friend:
The most effective…get to know their people…their frustrations, concerns, questions, beliefs, problems, dreams, goals, strengths and weaknesses…negative things are happening… right now, and the sooner you identify them, the sooner you can reduce, eliminate or neutralize them. If you just act as if everything is just fine, prepare for the consequences.
Take some time to get up and out. You’ll feel better. Others will feel better. Ultimately, you’ll find the time was well spent as it will open up time you were losing by just hunkering down. Hunkering is a defensive posture; standing up gives us a lot more control.
How do you recharge? It’s worth giving this some thought.
Not just on holidays, but as a regular, incorporated part of your lifestyle? Not just at home; also at work. A daily battery boost.
Have a great long weekend!
