The key to success at work and in life isn’t really starting strong, it’s staying strong. And one of the keys to having that staying power is the idea of self-regulation. There are four steps to creating this staying power.
Set upper and lower boundaries
In Greg McKeown’s book Effortless, he suggests the idea of making concrete boundaries for both how little and how much you will do in a given day on your important priorities. These boundaries give you some wiggle room but also give you the ability to stay on track over time.
Give yourself breathing room
- Keep your work within sustainable boundaries
- Work at a sustainable pace
- Have at least a few hours in a day or week where you’re not in meetings
- Block out larger chunks of time for accomplishing bigger projects
- Allow yourself to be immersed in the work without the pressure of a tight time window
Understand your tendency
When facing a goal, do you tend to get into a high-drive gear and try to remain there 24/7? Depending on your tendency, you can proceed in one of the following three ways:
- High drive: Give yourself permission to be human, to rest, and to have real downtime.
- Low drive: Keep a close eye on whether you’re going over your upper boundary of activity and headed for burnout
- Fluctuating drive: Ensure that you are doing the minimum before chilling out
Build in rest and recovery
- If you’re a high-drive individual, you’ll need to remain especially conscious about giving yourself planned times of rest and recovery.
- If you operate at a low-drive level, make sure you’ve at least hit your lower boundary of activity before taking a break.
- And if your drive fluctuates, you’ll need to remember to have rest and recovery on the days when you feel on top of the world and like you can work 24/7, so that you don’t crash the next day.
