Publisher's Letter : Do Nothing

June 1, 2013  by Trey Whitehead in Business Strategy, Industry   

Here we are in June, the vacation season is about to begin and Home Furnishings Business is taking a look at finding a healthy balance between work and personal time. Way too often we find ourselves completely overwhelmed with demands from both internal and external customers, where do you find the additional time to handle everything?

I think the better question is, should we try and find that time? 
Research shows that down time allows people to recharge their battery. This would include better sleep habits, daytime work outs, afternoon naps (my favorite), vacations and time spent away from the office. All these items boost job performance and productivity.

However, everything we have been taught suggests we should put in more time to achieve goals and handle the increased demands of our jobs. The main problem with this approach is there the limited number of hours in a day. What is one to do? How do you keep any type of personal life when you are working all the time? Most workplaces reward the employees that work long hours and push hard every day, but does that necessarily mean they are the most productive employees?

Stanford University recently conducted a study that required basketball players to sleep 10 hours a night. What they found were the athlete’s performance in practice improved; free-throws and three-point shooting increased by an average of 9 percent. They now understand, the greater the performance demands, the greater the need to recharge. When demand and pressure are on, most of us elect to put in more time rather than rest and recharge.

Another study completed by Florida State University suggests that 90-minute intervals turn out to be the best amount of time to maximize productivity. People must avoid exhaustion and limit time to an amount they can completely recover on a daily or weekly bases. This explains why morning breaks, getting away from your desk for lunch and an afternoon snack break will make better performing employees. The energy an employee brings to his or her job is more important than the number of hours worked. 
Taking time away from work can be any number of things. It can be spent just relaxing, watching your children participate in a ball game, taking in nature and appreciating the things we often take for granted. When is the last time you took the time to appreciate the flowers, trees, the warm summer breeze or the sun shining on your face and the simple fact that you are alive and well? These are the things that bring meaning and help you recharge. These are the things you should be doing to help find that balance in life. 

The following pages will allow you to see what others in the industry are doing to find balance. I hope you enjoy this issue and I will leave you with a bit of advice from “Pooh’s Little Instruction Book” by A.A. Milne. 
“Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, or just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering. 
Sometimes doing nothing might just be the best thing for us all.