Work, Rest, Repeat

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so close you can practically smell the turkey roasting in the oven! I love the holiday – it's a special time to hang out with family, catch up with friends, watch football, and more importantly it's a time to rest and be thankful for the year you've had.

I know that a lot of entrepreneurs will be working right up until the turkey is taken out of the oven. Sounds pretty crazy right? I get their logic – time away from your business feels like a risk and a lost opportunity. I'm tempted to sneak in some emails while peeling the potatoes and basting the bird myself. Entrepreneurs spend every waking minute working or thinking about their business.

However, that's the fastest route to burnout. An estimated $125 billion to $190 billion a year is spent treating the health effects of workplace stress in the U.S. We're not alone either. In notoriously workaholic Japan, people are forced to take holidays. There are government-sanctioned days off just so the Japanese can going hiking on a mountain. I hope we never get to that point here in the U.S.

So for me, observing Thanksgiving is non-negotiable.

In the last year and a half I've been building Radiate, I have felt burnout around the corner. When I do, I make sure to take a time-out. Sometimes my best thinking has come when I've decided to check out for the day – no emails, no phone, no computer. During one of these days, I was at home baking bread for my children when a lightbulb moment happened. I realized we were doing something that would have brought us down the wrong track at our company and I was so buried in work I didn't even realize it. Luckily, that day of total rest helped give me clarity.

Since then, we've decided that everyone at our company should have these days. We call them "Radiate" days – a day off that you can take spontaneously when you feel like you're about to burn out. This perk is treasured at Radiate. One of our colleagues goes on a miles-long hike to clear his head. I personally like to spend all day at the spa!

I'm not sure tomorrow will be a Radiate day, especially if my turkey comes out dry. Still, spending time with my family and friends and being thankful for so many of the lucky things that have happened in my life will be more than enough to get me through the day.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday. For those in the U.S., let me know how you're spending the day.

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