Happy holidays to everyone celebrating in the US! May we all find moments of rest and recovery this week. 💚
Busyness has become an all-too-familiar reality. As the holidays approach, we believe planning for and monitoring our rest and recovery during this time of year is essential to avoid burnout and prevent a complete energy drain. Let’s look at an example from regenerative agriculture. Holistic management teaches us the importance of rest and recovery in managing pastures for ecological health. A holistic grazing plan helps farmers determine the appropriate rest time each grazing area needs to recover before livestock can return. This recovery period is essential because it allows plants to grow strong foliage and deep roots that support a thriving ecosystem. The land will degrade without adequate rest, and its health will be at risk. Similarly, in an organization, if we don’t create time for intentional rest and recovery, we risk undermining our own health and the health and resilience of our organizations. The dominant machine model places immense pressure on individuals to fulfill their duties the same way each day, each month, and each year, without variance. In this model, employees strive to meet these expectations and are incentivized to make personal sacrifices for professional gain, addressing organizational needs before their own. These environments are prone to high levels of competition, stress, and, you guessed it…burnout. How can we plan for and monitor our individual and shared rest and recovery times as a team, knowing it’s vital for health, resilience, and creativity? For this week’s #WithLifeWednesday, we invite you to consider: 🌱 What shorter patterns of rest and recovery could I benefit from in my daily or weekly routine? 🌱 What long-term patterns of rest and recovery can my team plan into our work cycles next year?
