WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE PACE FOR EVERY DAY

COVID-19 has been masterful at throwing the best-laid plans into disarray –

including holidays, which many of us rely on to recuperate from a hectic work schedule. 

But, have you thought about the impact on your ability to perform if you aren’t giving your mind and body time to rest? 

While your annual holiday is no longer certain, what we do know for sure is that running on fumes will not lead to a better version of you. 

So, it’s time to shift old notions and old ways of working. 

It’s time to build a sustainable pace for every day. The kind of feel-good momentum that works for you, and most importantly, that you don’t need to escape from. 

Let’s make the change. 

A powerful duo

A sustainable pace for work and life connects two essential elements: who we’re being and what we’re doing. 

Most of us are great at ‘doing’, yet have forgotten, or never learned, how to combine our actions with who we want to be. 

The thing is, if you’re only focusing on what you’re doing and taking action the same way you always have, you’re missing a big part of the puzzle: the opportunity to expand your possibilities by considering who you’re being first.

You can think of being and doing as two sides of the same coin – they have a reciprocal relationship. When you’re being your best, you’re more likely to do your best – think: keeping up with your daily routines and rituals, and responding rather than reacting to problems and challenges. 

Likewise, when you’re doing your best, it empowers you to continue being your best – you feel calm, centred, aware and resilient, which encourages you to maintain your sustainable rhythm. 

In action, that might look like: 

✺ Clarity from reality

As humans, we love sameness; we are biologically wired to look for patterns and create routines and processes. No one is immune to this – just consider your current morning routine. Whether you love it, hate it or feel indifferent about it, it’s a pattern that you do over and over. Right now, while we’re living through constant uncertainty, our patterns have been disrupted and you may be feeling frustrated with the change in routine.

The foundher Sustainable Pace method starts with getting clarity from reality. We invite participants to use our Productivity Planner to get the facts on what their week looks like, then use that info to see where they could create small shifts and improvements. It empowers them to be aware, take control of their habits and create routines that feel good and help their productivity approach.

✺ Recharging time

High performance doesn’t mean working all hours to get a job done. It’s about recognising when you need to rest and ensuring you have allowed time in your routine to regenerate. 

In action, that could look like a daily workout, taking a day once a month to recharge, adding a wind-down ritual to your evening or even scheduling a last-minute getaway.

✺ Prioritising your goals

Without conscious awareness, it’s easy to get caught up in the everyday busyness of business and put off your big-picture goals – the kind of default being mode that leads to frustration and overwhelm. 

Instead, activating your being mode could look like clearing the first week of the month to work on your business, not in it – opening up the time, space and awareness you need to effect positive change.  

Results, redefined

A happy side effect of combining who you’re being with what you’re doing to create a sustainable pace is that your results will be amplified. Why? Because you’re actively creating the energy and capacity you need to do your best work more often. 

You are deciding, not defaulting.

You’ll also no longer feel like you’re in an endless ‘work never done’ loop, ‘just making it’ through each deadline or project, only to face an even bigger hurdle on the horizon. Instead, you’ve built a routine that works for you, with recharging rituals baked in.

Here’s what some of our recent Sustainable Pace participants were celebrating after just eight weeks of learning to create a new rhythm:

“I’m much more conscious about rhythms and routines and how to structure time. On a daily basis I’m considering who I need to be as well as what I need to do.” – Ruth 

“I’m open to the idea of designing a life that I love, rather than just going with the flow, which is how I’ve operated for a long time. I’m excited by what I can do if I choose to do it.” – Penny 

As our Pacers discovered, success begins to look different when you start blending being and doing. 

Success, by definition, can no longer be achieved at any cost, because the cost of your mental health and energy is too high. 

Instead, sustainable success means achieving goals and maintaining your wellbeing so you can continue to work at a high level over time (even through a pandemic).

When you pay attention to your being and doing modes, not only will you have the energy and brainpower to do your best work, you’ll feel good doing it. And that’s the real marker of success.

Our Sustainable Pace program is designed to help you combine who you’re being with what you’re doing. Discover more ways we work with clients to build performance in our Productivity Masterclass, or sign up to the eight-week online program here.