ARE YOU A HARD WORKER OR DOING IT THE HARD WAY?

Tired but wired. The purgatory of being seriously fatigued but unable to go to sleep. This is the collateral damage of striving for high performance. The anxiety that comes with increasing levels of responsibility keeps the executive in this non-productive state. It’s assumed that more time at the job will equal more results, but in reality, are you working hard or making the job harder for yourself?

Problem-solving skills and creativity decrease dramatically when the executive is peering through the fog of fatigue.

When a leader is tired, they tend to think more pessimistically, and pessimistic leaders are rarely good ones. They drag others down to their way of thinking, and they play the blame game rather than seeking solutions.

They are more likely to shy away from even necessary risks, and they tend to communicate less.

The tired executive’s life can easily spiral out of control, as they are typically not good at asking for help. When they run out of energy, they not only run out of resilience but also curiosity, insightfulness and an ability to engage at a deeper level.

To balance work and rest effectively you will require mental compartmentalisation.

THE ABILITY TO FOCUS

The executive who has achieved mental compartmentalisation has also simplified their life. They think about work only when they are at work; their focus is devoted to their family when they are at home.

Mental compartmentalisation allows them to escape from their world into the quiet place in their mind — a place with no interrupting thoughts, of deep rest and uninterrupted sleep. This is their ‘nothing box’ and Executive Athletes can access this space at will.

This becomes especially important at bedtime. The more you reach for sleep, the further it moves away from your outstretched fingertips. Sleep is not a taking; it comes when you let go of being awake. To let go of being awake you first must find your nothing box.

HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE MENTAL COMPARTMENTALISATION?

What distracts us from the present is trying to preempt the future and over thinking its endless possibilities. It is challenging to stop asking ourselves ‘what if’ but the best way to create your future is to control the present.

When you redefine success as winning each and every individual moment you will achieve a new level of focus.

This is mental compartmentalisation. This is what it takes to push through the purgatory of being tired and wired and exist only in a highly productive state.