Are you kidding me? I almost fell out of my rocking chair when I read Why Entrepreneurs Should Work On Their Days Off. Of course, it was posted at Under 30 CEO web site. Weren’t we all a bit more naive then? Take it from someone who has been an entrepreneur longer than under 30 CEO’s have been alive, working on your day off DOES NOT give you the competitive edge. (To my under 30 CEO colleagues: I’m not out of shape or out of touch. Many of my under 30 entrepreneurial clients engage us because we’re innovative, relevant, and forward thinking.)
Here’s what really happens when you work on your day off and fail to give yourself time to rejuvenate:
- You lose perspective.
- You lose focus.
- You lose your ability to concentrate.
- Promises made to your clients are not kept. Stuff falls through the cracks.
- You waste time hanging out at the “social media water cooler” on your regular workdays.
- You get sick.
- Your overall performance suffers.
Why? Because you’re tired! Your brain can’t function at its best when you’re fatigued and jacked up on Red Bull. You miss vital information and cues to information assured to create opportunities for your business. The competitive edge you gained by working on your day off has now been lost to fatigue and its resulting impact. Fatigue costs more than $136 billion per year in health-related lost productivity; 84% of those costs due to reduced performance at work. Is it really worth it? Will the gains you made working on your day off offset what you stand to lose by the resulting fatigue?
More, bigger, faster isn’t invariably better.
Rather than work on your day off, how about if you learn to work differently during your regular workdays to get a leg up on the competition, work on fun projects guilt-free, and be uber-productive. Click here to talk to a business coach today about how you can have it all – including days off!
That’s our story and we’re sticking to it! What say you?
Related Blog Posts:
7 Tips for Entrepreneurs to Achieve Work/Life Balance
Confessions From a Strategic Coach on Work/Life Balance
