The way we think about productivity and excellence is changing.
On the one hand, a growing body of research shows us that outstanding performance is born of "deliberate practice." That is, focused attention on your craft, consistently, over time.
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell offers a formula for world-class performance -- 10,000 hours of practice.
However, Gladwell's work is based, in part, on research carried out by Karl Anders Ericsson, which adds a dimension to the idea of high performance that is often overlooked. And that is the importance of REST and SLEEP in maintaining the highest-level output.
According to a recent article in theweek.com, called A Better Way to Work, exceptional performance is born of 10,000 hours of deliberate practice (as Gladwell points out), along with 12,500 hours of deliberate rest or down time, and 30,000 hours of sleep.
In other words, the most productive people do work, however they work deliberately and ritually -- even when they don't feel like it -- for 4-5 hours a day. And they incorporate sufficient sleep, leisure time, and rest into their day, every day. That is the key to consistent, high performance.
How you rest, impacts how well you perform in any area of your life.
So remember to rest.
You'll be a better business woman, better mother, better partner, better person because of it.
