The power of taking time off

I hope some of you are taking the opportunity to chill, kick back and even take a holiday. I’m reminded of statistics that were recently released that said people who use the full allocation of holiday in the workplace have a 60 per cent lower chance of having a heart attack or a stroke. That is sobering data that we really shouldn’t ignore.

It also got me thinking about how we can find ways to relax even when we’re not on holiday. I want to get away from this feeling that has long been pervasive – and I think is extremely toxic – that to be successful in the workplace you must push yourself to the limit, exhaust yourself and work ridiculous hours.

The antidote has been finding what relaxing thing works for me and fits into my everyday life. I posted a couple of articles on this topic on LinkedIn and got an incredible reaction. The first one spoke about mowing the lawn. We’re constantly told that if you want to have a moment of calm or a release from your job, you need to take up boxing or get up at 5am or start taking ice baths, or practise breathing exercises and yoga.

Many of these are habits or acts that appeal to and work for other people. You need to find what works for you. For me, it’s sitting on the lawnmower. Whether it’s for two hours or 20 minutes, it’s good for my mental health and so makes me a better employee, founder and businessman. We shouldn’t be ashamed of telling the world the things that work for us.

The second LinkedIn post that seemed to resonate spoke about how, 12 months after I hosted the Champions League final on television, I took my son to an under-nines football tournament. The reason I shared the story is because society has decided that hosting a Champions League final is more important than going to a kids’ football competition. If you ask my son, he will tell you that his tournament is the most important thing in the world. It’s good to retain a different perspective.

The other reason why I wanted to discuss this was to remind people that sometimes you can’t do something new unless you stop doing something old.

I remember the England rugby player Jonny Wilkinson telling us that exploration was the single most important thing when it comes to seeking high performance. If your life is already filled with scheduled things you need to do, where does exploration come in? There are probably three things I’ve tried to prioritise in the past 12 months that have helped me get to this point. The first one is not getting derailed by things you can’t control.

I want people to realise that their reaction to what happens is far more important than whatever took place. I love the Epictetus quote: “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” Stoicism is built around this foundational idea that we can’t control the world.

The second one – and this will seem a bit strange to some of you – is to think about death. Again, I’m going to use a quote, this time by Marcus Aurelius: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”

If I were to depart the earth at this moment, would I have wished I’d been at the football with my son or the Champions League final? The answer is 100 per cent with my son. Life is long enough for us to do things that really matter, but it’s so short that there isn’t much time to waste.

The final one for helping us get that work/life balance right is how we spend our days where we do what’s important to us. The answer to that, I believe, is simply to desire less. I love the phrase: “Happiness is wanting what you have”. I honestly believe there was a time in my life when I thought that happiness came from obtaining more things.

It’s only when you’ve obtained more stuff – whether that is money, fame, talent or something else – that you realise it doesn’t solve any of the real issues in life. It can’t take away your problems or make you happier for longer. It might give you a sense of joy for a short period, but, in the end, it isn’t what matters at all.

Jake Humphrey is the host of the High Performance podcast and co-founder of Whisper Group