When Do You Recharge?
Today is a holiday in Canada – no fancy name, just the Civic Holiday. In light of this, I want to share a few thoughts on something that many folks do when holidays present themselves: recharging.
Holidays give many folks the excuse they need to take time “away from work”. They provide opportunity (if you choose to avail yourself of the chance) to recharge. Recharging is a great thing; and, my perspective is that recharging needs much more time than what is available to us during standard holidays. There’s a way that, as humans, we actually need to be much more deliberate and consistent when it comes to recharging.
In a world that has gotten incredibly fast-paced, electronically connected, and the lines between professional and personal time has started to blend for so many, being conscious about the act of recharging isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. It requires more than “oh, it’s _______ day, I can shut down for a minute.”
Trust me; everyone needs more recharge time than a minute. More than day. More than a week, even.
Recharge time cannot be scattered haphazardly throughout the year. It cannot be hit or miss, it cannot be something that happens without intention. Recharge time must be a conscious choice, something we all carve out for ourselves meaningfully, regularly and frequently.
Admittedly, everyone has got a different threshold for when and how recharging happens. There isn’t a cookie-cutter approach to recharging that serves human beings well. That being said, here’s what I know and would like to offer you:
Recharging takes more time than you think; so give yourself more time.
Recharging needs to happen at least daily, to some degree.
Recharging needn’t be for long periods; it does need to be engaged in intentionally.
Recharging can look like 15 minutes every couple of hours, an hour every night, a 24-hour block every week – whatever matches your internal rhythm.
Recharging can also look like a blend of all of the above.
Whatever you choose, what I know is that in order for you to recharge yourself meaningfully, you’ve got to be as deliberate and consistent about it as charging your mobile phone, your laptop, your computer – whatever. You wouldn’t let your phone battery drain to completely empty before recharging – so don’t do that to your human body and mind.
Bottom-line: it’s time to get intentional about your recharge-time. Make it conscious, make it consistent, make it real. As you allow yourself to be more intentional about how and when recharging works for you, I guarantee that your entire being will notice a positive difference. One day you’ll look back at life B.I.C. (before intentional recharging) and wonder what took you so long to catch the recharge wave.