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So, if your mojo-meter is running on fumes, here are a few simple ways to refuel:

TAKE A

It’s up to you as a leader to make taking quick breaks okay. We have a room in our office that is used for napping. I am delighted when I see someone emerge from a mid-afternoon break because it means that they feel comfortable taking care of themselves, and they will be performing at a higher level for the rest of the day.

I have done this twice now, in my three decades of running businesses. Upon returning from each trip, I was able to see things more clearly, and the results were extraordinary. I learned that the necessary changes I was putting off because they required too much emotional capital were much easier to make upon return. I also noticed that it was easier to make subtle connections that lead to disproportionate returns. For example, upon returning from one trip, I repositioned our company and started a new one. These shifts would have required “juice” that I didn’t have when I left the country.

BREAK Sometimes the most obvious ideas are the best ideas. When was the last time you really got away from your business? The axiom that you can’t work on your business when you are working in your business is true. One of the best ways to gain new perspective and the energy to act upon it is to leave your business behind — for a while. Verne Harnish, founder of The Entrepreneurs Organization (now EO) and Gazelles, recommends you step away from your business and take a sabbatical every seven years. He notes that every culture celebrates life transitions in seven-year increments, e.g., Confirmations and Bat Mitsvahs, which were naturally designed around our need to reset. So, taking time to recalibrate as a business leader every seven years makes a lot of sense. For this strategy to work, you really have to be committed to leaving your business behind. Take at least three weeks and commit to not checking email or calling in to see how things are going without you. If possible, go to a completely foreign location — the further off-the-grid, the better. Your goal is to be intentionally distracted by things other than business.

WORK OUT DURING WORK

TAKE

If you can’t nap, then exercise in the afternoon. Research shows that muscle strength, power and output are all better later in the day. Nothing shrinks stress like the endorphins you get from a good workout. One benefit of the pandemic is that many companies are now embracing the benefits of more flexible schedules, making this accommodation possible.

A NAP Naps aren’t just for grandparents

and babies, leaders everywhere have learned about the value of 30 minutes of downtime. A NASA study on pilots found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34 percent. The National Sleep Foundation even describes napping as a mini-vacation.

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