by Mandy Green, Busy Coach
A coach sent me a message recently asking…
“How do you get over feeling guilty about not working on the weekends? I’m trying to take time to be with my family this weekend, but I get this sense of guilt because I’m not making progress on my recruiting. I feel like I need to be working“
Great question.
This is actually something I really struggled with when I was a full-time coach.
Looking back on my career, there is definitely some advice that I wish somebody had shared with me.
That advice would be not every day of your life has to be productive.
You’re allowed to have lazy days.
You’re allowed to do nothing.
In fact, I’d say it should be required.
Why?
Because you need breaks away from work, coaching, and recruiting.
Look at anyone who operates at an elite level, and you’ll notice they take breaks.
Do you think Lebron James works as hard in the offseason as he does during the season?
Heck no.
I’m sure he works out in the gym…
And does all of his shooting drills…
But he’s not running up and down the court for 3 hours every night.
He knows his body needs time off.
So he uses the offseason for this.
It’s when he takes vacations…
And has his “lazy days”.
If Lebron just went pedal to the metal every offseason, his game would suffer.
And the same principle applies to your work week.
If you’re pushing it hard during the week…
The idea that you can’t take a day or two off on the weekend is crazy and will hurt you in the long run (speaking 100% from experience).
You deserve some time off.
This should be your time to be lazy.
And to not think about your team, operations, or recruiting.
In fact, I’d say that’s one of the best things you can do.
Cause it’ll re-energize you…
And help you be more creative and focused come Monday morning.
Point being…
You shouldn’t feel guilty about not working on the weekend.
The most successful people I know have balance in their lives.
Successful people don’t have attitudes… they have high standards and firm boundaries.
Sure they work hard…
But they have boundaries around the amount of time they allow themselves to work.
They have no problem taking days off and you shouldn’t either.
Mandy Green is a former Division I college coach and an expert at organization, focusing on creating the right plans and systems for college coaching staffs. To ask her about how Busy Coach helps create better programs and more organized leaders, email her at mandy@dantudor.com.