Performance is a renewable resource

It is important to develop a realistic conception of work in order to then develop healthy performance management skills. This involves managing our performance at work as we manage a renewable resource. Because internal resources (attention, concentration, motivation, judgment, patience, analytical skills, physical fatigue) can dry up when they are misused.

Work is like a marathon

In a sense, you can see the entrepreneur's work like a marathon runner sees his race. The experienced athlete knows how to manage his resources well. He knows that he will have moments of significant effort that will have to be compensated by moments of recovery. If I want to be able to increase the pace to take the lead of the pack of runners, I must have planned a moment when I will slow down to grab a glass of water and hydrate myself. Likewise, I must plan to slow down after this effort in order to recover and be ready for my next climb.

The entrepreneur and the marathon runner have a similar experience. The professional life of the business leader is punctuated by moments when he chooses to perform to achieve his goals. However, planning this performance necessarily involves planning recovery times.

Two types of recovery

For a healthy recovery of internal resources, the literature in work psychology is clear (S. Sonnentag, 2018*); planning must be done at two levels.

1. First, activities that allow recovery for a few hours during work periods. Playing a team sport one evening during the week or spending a few quiet hours at the spa in a water circuit will allow me to psychologically detach myself from work. Similarly, taking a cooking class or planning renovations are activities that are conducive to renewing our internal resources through structured learning or projects that are not related to work.

2. Next, vacations . Am I saying here that vacations are essential to healthy long-term performance? That not taking vacations might make me less competent, more error-prone, more likely to throw tantrums, less likely to enjoy my job, less likely to contribute to a healthy work environment? Yes, that's pretty much it.

Every 12 weeks

But for workers who have very demanding jobs, who work long hours or who are on call electronically (reachable by email or text), for example, are those who are most at risk of developing burnout, the recommendation of the scientific literature is very clear.

To maintain an optimal level of performance throughout the year (not seeing a week of productivity at 30% or 40% because you are too tired), it is important to plan vacations every 12 weeks based on a rhythm of two weeks of vacation for the holiday season and the summer period, coupled with a week of "relaxation" in the fall and spring.

Using this rhythm, performance remains optimal for all weeks of the year.

What do we do about the guilt that some leaders have about taking vacations? We remember that not taking vacations makes us less efficient and less effective on an annual basis. A successful entrepreneur must therefore remember that vacations are an integral part of the job. And that without them, it becomes impossible to perform in the long term.