I recently listened to a Gary Vee podcast. I credit him with the title of this article. I thought of different ways to say it, but it says it all.
People are amazed or look with disgust at my sleep regime. I typically sleep 6 hours Monday to Friday and 8 hours on the weekend. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. Some practitioners or scientists say everyone should get eight hours. My feeling is to listen to your body and do what makes sense for your business and life.
There’s also the issue of how people sleep. Some are sound sleepers and get great rest every night. Others are light sleepers and wake up when a feather hits the ground. Over the last number of years, I’ve had the amusement of experiencing hot flashes. These make sleep a whole new experience, and disturbs my many years of blissful deep restful sleep. Those who’ve experienced hot flashes know exactly what I’m talking about.
Since we’ve yet to discover we are productive when we sleep, it is about what you do when you’re awake. I’ve written about the fact that you need to manage your time or your time will manage you. That doesn’t mean scheduling every minute of the day, that is not realistic or attainable for most people. Hats off to you Gary Vee. It means getting enough sleep to function at the level you need to be successful. Scheduling your day/time blocking, and including “me” time, whatever that means for you. I schedule my workout in the morning, and plan to get off my devices 30 minutes to 1 hour before I go to bed. I am still working on this second one.
I am a huge advocate of self-care. I believe you should have leisure and family time, and self-care, we need this. This is what prepares us for the hard work we do the rest of the day. I’m not saying spent hours in front of the TV, video games, or a week away with family when you have a $100,000 deal on the table. I am saying manage both. It comes back to walking your talk. If you want to achieve a certain level of success your actions need to be appropriate. Sitting around and watching TV is not going to get you there.
I stand behind making sure the time you spend when you are awake is valuable and productive. Those who would rather work on their business, than in their business have many ways to ensure productivity. Some can make it on their own, and others need help.
I’m excited to offer tools for those looking for help. Mark Wardell is sharing his knowledge and over 20 years of expertise.
