sleeponlaptop 2013-Nov08
Right now you are probably in the middle of going in a hundred different directions.  As an MGO or development professional, this is one of the craziest times of the year.  There are donors to call and meet, proposals to get out, events to execute, bosses to appease… I know, it’s not an easy time.
But, I’ve decided this is also the best time to let you know the one thing that can really help you during this busy, busy time.
You need to turn off your brain.
Now, hang with me here.  I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t be busy, but I’m saying you will be MORE EFFECTIVE if you allow yourself to rest… even in the busiest of seasons.
There was a fantastic article that came out last month in Scientific American called, Why Your Brain Needs More Down Time, by Ferris Jabr.  The premise is this:
“In a normal working day in modern America, there’s a sense of so much coming at you at once, so much to process that you just can’t deal with it all.”
Are you feeling this way right now?  I know many of the folks I work with do.
The article goes on to say that in 2010, LexisNexis conducted a survey with 1,700 white collar workers in the U.S. and abroad and the study revealed that “on average, employees spend more than half their workdays receiving and managing information rather than using it to do their jobs; half of the surveyed workers also confessed that they were reaching a breaking point after which they would not be able to accommodate the deluge of data.”
The article goes continues to explain that all of us need to rest our brains so that they have time to process information and come up with new and creative ideas on how to solve problems.  It cites study after study that demonstrate how people are actually more effective if they allow themselves to stop and take periods of downtime.
The reason?  Our brains never stop working.  And, if we never allow them to rest, they can’t catch up to all that we are taking in every day.  This is why we need downtime.  And, this is why we need to create a discipline around it.  Researchers have found that unless we “make the time,” we, as humans, will not do it.
I know, just what you want to hear from Richard and me… you need more discipline!  But, this is critical stuff.  You have been taught to work and work and work.  Especially in the non-profit world, you can NEVER do enough, right?
Well, that way of thinking and acting is actually making you more INEFFECTIVE in your work.
I know this is a hard concept to accept.  Value at a non-profit work environment is placed on coming in early, leaving late and working the weekends.  But actually, all that is making you a worse employee… and less creative in working with your donors.
You know how some of your best ideas come to you when you are not thinking?  They can come when you’re taking a shower or preparing a meal.  Or, you know how those “forced brainstorming sessions” never seem to be productive until you wake up the next morning all of a sudden with this great idea that came out of nowhere.  Well, researchers are saying this is not an accident.  This is your brain catching up with all you have taken in and processed.
So, the question is, how are you going to get sufficient rest in order to allow yourself to be the most effective and creative with your donors?  Here are some ideas that researchers say will help you:

  1. Always try and get 7-8 hours of sleep per night – your brain needs it.  You’ll feel refreshed and you’ll find mornings are your most creative and productive time.
  2. Do all the “hard stuff” right away in the morning – anything that is going to require a lot of energy and thinking should be done in the first part of the day.
  3. In the afternoon take a 10-20 minute nap – researchers have found that a 10-minute nap is the most effective.
  4. Every couple of hours get away from your desk – the most effective thing you can do is take a 15 minute walk outside in nature.  If you’re in a city, find a park.
  5. Take time to meditate or pray everyday – allow your brain to shut down while being awake.
  6. Take vacation – researchers have concluded that today’s workers need a full two weeks off to let go of the daily stress.  In the U.S. we have an average of 10 days vacation and many of us don’t even take 9 of those days.  Yikes!
  7. Don’t take work home with you – again this is to allow your brain to rest.  Taking work home on a consistent basis makes you irritable and cranky.  And you won’t be effective the next day.
  8. Take a day off in the most hectic times of your work – yep, this one is totally counter-intuitive, but researchers say you will actually be MORE EFFECTIVE with all of your work if you allow yourself to do this and get away from all the stress.

The beauty of all this is that we all “know” this stuff.  The problem is that we don’t do it.  The key is to schedule these breaks into our day, week, month and year.  Unless we do that, it will not be a priority and we’ll find ourselves stressed out and less effective.
Look at it this way:  your donors deserve the best YOU, right?  The best YOU is when you are balanced mind, body and spirit.  Do it for you, and do it for your donors.
Jeff