We all need to slow down throughout the day and take some time to relax. That’s what scheduling in leisure time is all about. Yesterday I posted Tell Your Boss You Need Leisure Time. We need to make sure that our bosses understand that we aren’t robots and we need some joking around, coffee break and just plain fun time. I was able to procure an interview with Alison Link. I thought that she would be very helpful to my Work Happy Now readers and lo and behold I was right.

I only wanted her to answer one question in order to help you understand the benefits of leisure time at work, and she answered it better than I could have expected.

I asked her, “How does someone schedule in leisure time when they don’t have enough time to get everything done that their boss asks of them?”

Alison’s answer:

Become more aware of the benefits of leisure. If you have a strong value for leisure, others will see you as a role model when they understand that your quality of life is higher than theirs. You will help them believe it is possible to have leisure in your life and not be less productive (short term and long term). You should make time for leisure because it provides the balance we need to handle non-leisure activities well and enhances resilience and life satisfaction.

While there are a few happy workaholics, most people need time away from work in order to meet all of their needs. They may have talents that do not get expressed on the job, partners or families they want to spend time with, projects to complete and values they want to support. They also need to unwind, relax, refresh and revitalize themselves.

A leisure-positive lifestyle:

• Increases physical and psychological well-being. It reduces stress and increases wellness, and enhances people’s sense of independence.
• Perceived freedom in leisure has been shown to help people resist stress-induced illness.
• Impacts professional performance, enhancing decision-making and problem-solving capabilities.
• Supports personal development by clarifying values, increasing social interaction and breaking down barriers

When people live a balanced life, they provide an important benefit to their communities as well, simply by demonstrating that such a life is possible and valuable.

My follow-up:

My readers are constantly bombarded with needing to get more done in less time. I was hoping that you might have some insight.

Alison’s answer:

There is evidence to show that leisure is linked to productivity. Adults have been shown to be able to maintain higher attention levels when they have more frequent breaks. Several U.S. and Canadian studies show that leisure programs “increased productivity by seven percent while decreasing absenteeism by 20 percent.”

Leisure education as provided by The Leisure Link builds employee morale and strengthens team functioning through its positive impacts on:

 

• Self concept, self esteem and self confidence
• Sense of autonomy and perception of freedom
• Stress reduction and relief of boredom

Employees may find a renewed sense of purpose for its own sake. Also, increasing leisure can increase creativity.

Everyone can use more creativity in their lives (even at work, even if you have trouble getting everything done that your boss asks of you). Whatever you do, being able to generate a lot of ideas about it will help you do it better.

Leisure education helps people create the conditions for nurturing creativity in their lives and in their work. People are at their most creative when they are in a “flow state.” When was the last time you became completely engaged in your work? And how about your leisure? Remember that your work and leisure both have a ripple effect into each other. Thing about what kind of ripple you want that to be.

In Closing:

Basically it’s about teaching the people at work that it’s okay to schedule in a little leisure time. If you have any trouble convincing your boss just send me an email with his/her name and phone # and I’ll give him/her a call. I’ll put on my best Tony Soprano voice and I’ll make sure that he/she allows you to relax and destress at work.

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Check out Alison Link’s website The Leisure Link Consulting. The Work Happy Now readers and I thank you for taking the time to answer my question. If you are having any trouble creating leisure time in your hectic life I would suggest hiring Allison.

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Get right up in her face and tell her you demand leisure time. Okay, that’s a bit much, but you can probably take some leisure time without being a jerk about it. It’s as simple as taking fifteen minutes here and two minutes there. There is a reason why people are addicted to smoking and it’s not just the nicotine. They get to go outside and take a break from all the stress. I find it funny to see a group of smokers huddled on a cold day, but they’re out there because it gives them a chance to have their nicotine and leisure time.

I discovered a great article in the NY Times “Why Leisure Matters in a Busy World.” The author Marci Alboher interviewed Alison Link, who believes that everyone must have some leisure time to work happy. It’s great to see so many people dedicated to helping others improve their work life.

Q. Why should we care about our relationship to leisure?

 

A. Too often, leisure time that is not used in a satisfying way turns into idle time, or is used to do a single thing to excess (like overeating, or getting into family quarrels). It can even turn negative, which is what happens often in the cases of substance use, delinquency and criminal activity. Also, wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t define ourselves by our work? It should be just as valid to define ourselves by our leisure.

We all need to take our health and happiness into account when we work. Many of us work so hard that we become ill or depressed. We need to have leisure in our life to keep our lives fun and energetic. If all we do is worry about work then what type of life is that? It’s a prison.

My second favorite question and answer was about feeling free. We all need to live our lives as if there are endless possibilities.

Q. So how do you explain all those people who don’t feel free in their lives?

 

A. Few of us really think about or plan for leisure. We think we should just go with the flow, but too often we end up feeling stressed, overwhelmed and unfulfilled. We need to plan for leisure — perhaps by doing one small thing every day, identifying long- and short-term leisure goals, putting enjoyable activities on the calendar — like we do other aspects of life. But before people start moving up leisure on the priority list, they need to appreciate and recognize the value and benefits of leisure, even when they have constraints (that may be internal or external). We all have obligations and other constraints that inhibit us from engaging in leisure that range from guilt to time or financial constraints. Yet the personal benefits and collective benefits short term and long term are worthwhile.

Click here to read the whole insightful article.

The mind needs to unwind and just have fun. There is a reason why kids are given time to eat and then run around the playground. They need to release their stress and so do you. You need to schedule in some leisure time every single day.

Here are 7 of my favorite leisure breaks:

1. Take a long lunch break and go to a museum by yourself.
2. Stretch at your desk for two minutes
3. Meet with a friend who you normally don’t see for Lunch
4. Breathe deeply for two minutes and nothing else
5. Walk around the block
6. Call your mother (only if she doesn’t stress you out)
7. Read a fictional book during your break
8. Write a Poem

It’s up to you to schedule in a little leisure time for yourself, so you will work happier and be more productive. Believe me, your family will thank you for destressing throughout the day instead of letting it all come out when you get home.

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Tomorrow I will be posting a short interview that Allison Link granted Work Happy Now. I asked her, “How does someone schedule in leisure time when they don’t have enough time to get everything done that their boss asks of them?“

You’ll just have to tune in on Friday to find out her answer.

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You’re leisurely jogging toward the finish line in your khakis and button down shirt when you look back and all the other managers from your various competitors are on your heels. You thought you were leading the pack by a good distance, but they caught up. You look forward again and the finish line got pushed so far away that you can’t even see it. 12 swear words pop into your head, you ease up and everyone passes you by.

This attitude has struck down the greatest companies because they stop pushing for innovative ways to separate themselves from the pack. The best way managers can help a company flourish is by dedicating themselves to professional growth. We all need to keep moving or we become a bucket infested with mosquitoes, attacking others to stay alive. The only way to avoid the blood suckers is to keep moving.

Complacency will wreck any company, especially one that relies on the same tactics that they used last year and the year before that. If marketing companies kept putting out the same ads then the audience would learn to tune them out. If managers keep using the same techniques their voices will fall on deaf ears. That’s where continual learning fits in. Whether it be classes, conferences, meetings, or consulting companies, there are ways for a manager and his employees to learn new tactics that rock the world of their customers. It’s the only way to stay alive in this hyper competitive working world.

Chris Bailey wrote Four Professional Growth Issues For Managers (And How To Address Them). My favorite line was:

If you are a leader, know that a key responsibility of leaders is to produce more leaders.

Managers should be creating people that can help a company grow. They should never fear that they are producing someone more capable than them. If that does happen then the manager should be happy. The company will only prosper if it beats out the competition. The only way to do that is to have great people around you. Every master should be ready for the day that his pupil surpasses his abilities. If you taught them right, they will respect this relationship and treat the company and the manager with respect.

Chris wrote four reasons why managers don’t further their professional development as well at their staff’s. It’s a good read for any manager wanting to overcome obstacles that might be preventing them from growing.

My biggest obstacle to continual learning was convincing upper management to buy into the idea. They don’t want to spend money when they think they are doing fine without it. If they were having a bad quarter they sure as hell didn’t want to spend money on professional development. They wanted to cut back on every extra expense. The only thing I can say to this is to keep trying. Most sales people get rejected between 8 and 16 times before a client agrees to do business. Consider yourself a salesman and keep after your bosses. If you keep trying, they will start believing.

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