Unplug and Recharge: The Key to RADical Success

The Plight of Modern Burnout

Do you sometimes feel like your batteries need a recharge? Are you running on empty, wiped out every day and every week? Burnout is the number one cause of business failure. It leads to a lack of focus and fulfillment, making even the simplest tasks appear insurmountable.

A Lesson from Our Ancestors

The cave dwellers spent their days hunting, gathering, napping, and being chased by tigers. That worked for them because there was a balance to their days, which gave them enough energy to outrun the tiger. We spend far too much time running from the tigers in modern society, which depletes our energy! Spending most of our time with our adrenaline pumping isn’t healthy. We need both the adrenaline rush and rest periods in between to continue to function at an optimal level.

The Irony of Modern Connectivity

A meme floating around the internet says, “When the phone was tied with wire, humans were free.” That statement resonates more each day. Those old enough to remember the days before mobile phones remember when we could turn them off anytime we wanted. No one panicked if we didn’t return a text or email in an hour, and it was possible to spend time in nature, free from interruption. Today, people expect us to be always on and available unless we train those around us differently. (More on that in another chapter). It is becoming increasingly difficult to turn off and unplug.

The Importance of Unplugging

The harder it becomes to unplug, the more vital it becomes that we do it. Want to increase your productivity, creativity, and energy? Try turning the devices off for a day, a weekend, or a vacation, and see what a reset can do. Ideally, we should unplug for at least one day each week, one weekend each quarter, and one vacation each year. The more we recharge our batteries, the better the results!

Strategies for Unplugging

How do we unplug so we can recharge?

1. Disconnect from Devices: Turn off the phone. Leave a message saying you are unavailable. Some people will leave a message, and others will reach out again after your return. We reduce stress by letting people know when to expect our return call.
2. Ignore Other Digital Distractions: Leave the other devices alone. Our email can wait. Leave an out-of-office reply. Yes, we might have tons of emails when we return, but much of that can be deleted when we only deal with messages requiring an action or reply. Taking the time to organize and create rules for our emails makes this much more manageable when done ahead of time.
3. Shun the News and Entertainment: Get rid of the remote control, the social feed, and the newspaper delivery. Trust me; nothing in the news can’t wait a few days. I have vacationed for many years, detached from world events, and found that whenever a truly catastrophic event occurred, someone told me about it.
4. Embrace Timelessness: Finally, take off the watch, unplug the clocks, sit back, and enjoy.

Utilizing Free Time Wisely

What can we do with all this time? Spend it with friends and family. Read a book or magazine. Lie in the sun. Play with our kids. Take a nap. Keep a journal. Work on a hobby. It doesn’t matter; it’s just about recharging.

When we take some time to stop the constant demands for our time and attention through the devices we carry, we reset our brains, nervous systems, and thought patterns. We can’t operate at our best when we constantly run without ever stopping to recharge, just like our phones. Make it a practice to unplug regularly to create RADical success.