Some of you may know I am a big fan of taking regular retreats to review my life on both a personal and business level. These are generally solo trips for a night or two to an idyllic seaside or bush environment.

I also adopt slow productivity in my work which focuses on economically expending energy in a mindful and purposeful manner. It’s about seeing life as a series of short sprints rather than one long marathon.

In this blog, I share some valuable insights on the power of retreats and adopting slow productivity into you game plan.

THE POWER OF RETREATS

I recommend all business owners adopt the habit of taking retreats to reflect and reinvigorate themselves from the challenges of running a business.

These can be done on annual, six-monthly or quarterly basis depending on individual circumstances. I’ve found that one or two nights away is generally adequate to re-set. These are enjoyable and inspiring, but they are not a holiday. Draft an agenda on what you want to workshop or review in advance of your retreat and allocate 90-120 minute sessions. In between, make sure to schedule activities to break up your agenda items including exercise and mindfulness. I personally find moving my body in a different environment takes my thinking to higher levels.

My most recent retreat, which was a half-year retreat, had an agenda including:

Personal and family reflections
Diet, exercise and mindfulness assessed, with goals revisited
Review of Strategic Plan at the half-year mark
Identifying the wins, losses and learning opportunities from the year so far
Review of key actions and goals for the remaining half of the financial year
Business operations snapshot including financial performance, gap analysis and resources
Business development activities and targets
Financial and investment performance and needs analysis
Projects current and pending

This was interspersed with walking, meditation, affirmations, reading and massage.

Based on your retreat frequency (quarterly, six-monthly or annual), consider setting your action plans based on the same timeline of 90, 180 or 365 days. Your action plans include documenting strategy (including key goals), activity checklists, budgets and project plans.

These can be periodically reviewed and updated on your rolling retreats.

The power of retreats is in not only establishing clear goals and objectives, but to optimize your body, mind and spirit.

Your greatest asset in business is you, so keep yourself running at an elite level.

SLOW PRODUCTIVITY

Slow productivity is a concept gaining momentum. After learning from the ‘run to you drop’ manic pace of business throughout the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s; many business owners have adopted slow productivity.

A focus on life balance, combined with understanding that winning in business is determined by outcomes achieved, not hours worked.

They key lesson of the past, and particular recent times, is burnout. Burnout is mostly undiagnosed, but often appears in changes in mood, personality, behaviour, habits, risk-taking and vices.

Slow productivity allows us to work in a highly efficient way, attempting to do our best work in less time. Working less hours allows individuals to introduce other activities to maintain their body and mind optimally.

One of the key challenges in business owners adopting slow productivity is that it is counter-intuitive. How can you get all of your important work done if you work less hours and introduce retreats, breaks and other activities into your diary?

But only you can make it happen. Years, or even decades, of doing ‘the hard yards’ creates huge neural programming and guilt that can be hard to rewire and reboot.

Here’s some hacks and tactics I use to adopt slow productivity.

Baseline

I aim to maintain a baseline of behaviours that set me up for success including:

Good sleep hygiene of 8 hours including no screen time 45 minutes before or after sleep
Commitment to ongoing personal and professional development including online learning, reading, podcasts and other content
Proactive and positive engagement with important people in all segments of my life
Regular exercise including 10,000 steps daily, some weights, cardio and sport
Intermittent fasting, wholefoods and drinking at least 3 litres of water daily
Mindfulness through affirmations and meditation
Body conditioning through massage and other bodywork

Pre-Work

I aim to maintain pre-work (prior to work projects and meetings) that set me up for success including:

Draft Day Sheets (5 sheets for working week with 1 per day) each Friday for the working week ahead
Day Sheets capture what I am attending to each day including meetings, client work, business admin, personal admin, mindfulness and exercise
Monday mornings are allocated to setting up the week including reviewing activities, allocating time, phone calls, email and preparing for the current week’s meetings
Exercise, projects and personal activities are allocated time windows within the weekly/daily sheets to ensure these are scheduled and acted on
Blank windows of time are allocated within the working week to allow batching of tasks or unforeseen actions required. This allows me to stay on task, while also providing flexibility

Present-Work

I aim to maintain present-work that sets me up for success including:

Doing the pre-work allows me to be totally present in my interactions with clients and important people around me
Adopting the baseline and pre/present/post methodology allows me to be the best version of myself I can be (at least that’s the aim)
Being present includes not placing screens or noise between me and the person I’m with, so I can actively listen and respond effectively
Being present includes being able to attend to deep work uninterrupted for 90-120 minute blocks to be highly efficient and productive (in less time!)

Post-Work

I aim to maintain post-work that sets me up for success including:

Harnessing the power of recency in memory, analysis and interpretation by following up with meeting notes or agreed actions within 24-48 hours
By closing out my agreed actions within a short time window of commitment, this opens up my mind to focus freely and fully on the next activity. This also promotes closure
Conducting post-work validates your words and work by following through on actions for other parties
Post-work should ideally be completed by close of business Friday to set up the next week ahead with clear intentions and avoids the typical frustration of a backlog of open items and unresolved issues

I encourage you to introduce retreats to your game plan and adopt slow productivity into your personal and business life.

Habits are hard to change, so please be kind to yourself in this process of change.

Great things indeed await.

I write blogs & videos just like this one on business, productivity and human development. If you'd like it delivered straight to your inbox head to https://darrenkbourke.com/the-fourth-moon-blog and let me know your email.

Email me at darren@darrenkbourke.com to schedule a meeting (at no cost or obligation) to discuss how I can help you, your business and your team this year.