“But what do I do during this crisis for my business? I can’t take a vacation now!”
I was speaking with a group of business leaders about taking vacations and sabbaticals away from your regular work. It’s healthy to both disconnect and explore life in other ways. There are times and seasons when this is more difficult.
Very senior leaders in times of crisis don’t get to take a 2 week vacation to “unplug.” Yet they have to craft practices which give them endurance. Let’s look at some historical figures for ideas
Winston Churchill kept us his daily patterns throughout the war with Germany. He had an eccentric love of afternoon baths, disappeared from his office to talk with citizens on walks during the London bombings (much to the dismay of people trying to keep him safe), took a nap almost every afternoon (he would work late into the night after dinner), took random afternoons away from his war office to travel back to his home (Chequers) to paint and lay bricks and putter with manuscripts. But there were only a couple of days in the entire war that he, as Prime Minister, did not work on official correspondence, reading reports, phoning international and domestic leaders, etc. He only missed a few of the weekly face-to-face updates with King George while he was traveling away from London. Overall he was incredibly productive in his work life. He had a long-established rhythm of breaks and hobbies during the afternoon and evening which gave him space to be productive.
Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt famously spent a couple of days at Marrakesh (in Morocco) after a conference there planning the invasion of Italy. Even then they both kept up with wartime correspondence. When Churchill spent 3 weeks at the White House over Christmas they set up a British war room so he could continue to oversee the global effort.
The US Presidents in my lifetime routinely get away from the White House for a rhythm break (Camp David is set up for this), but they get a daily briefing and keep up with phone calls and diplomatic visits. Multiple presidents took exercise breaks; Harry Truman power-walked around D.C., Teddy Roosevelt boxed with sparing partners, Ford and Obama golfed.
There’s a similar pattern with religious and movement leaders: Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Lech Walesa were all somewhat like Churchill – they developed ways to shift up the rhythm of what they did in a day and a week, which gave them great sustaining endurance. All were prolific and spent a great deal of time with people.
There are also these kinds of stories about even the most fanatical of successful CEOs. They used their time well and paid attention to their energy levels.
Here’s the key: Build daily and weekly habits which give you endurance. Experiment. Discover what works for you. Do this now, and you’re far more likely to be successful as your range of responsibilities increase.
Finally, one absolute recommendation: Take one day in seven to be completely disconnected from your work. You will find this ancient wisdom a blessing.
