Working in a relaxed matter not only benefits your joy and energy, it may as well be good for your achievements. Says who? Well, “superhero” Hugh Jackman, for starters.
Sports mate!
Australia originated actor and now Hollywood hotshot Hugh Jackman once said in an interview: “If you tell most of A-type athletes to run at their 85% capacity, they will run faster than if you tell them to run at 100%, because it’s more about relaxation, and form, and optimizing the muscles in the right way”.
In sports, this is very much true. Bolt, Phelps and others often show no sign of exhaustion after breaking record after record. Of course, these are extraordinary people. But the 85% rule also applies to normal people like you and me.
Office Olympics
At Scheduled we hit a mean topspin at the tennis court, but we are hardly professional athletes. So does this rule of thumb also apply to a general working day, or to the “office Olympics”, so to say?
And if it does, how do you apply this strategy?
Luckily, several studies found that workplace productivity does not decrease when companies diminish the working hours per day. Or in plain English: less hours don’t lead to less output. So yes, we should take it easy!
Let the scientists speak
How does this work, you ask? The researchers have two theories: people are either more motivated because of better working conditions, or they are sharp as a button, due to less fatigue and energy drain.
Either way, try to refrain come getting worked up. Apply some discipline in taking your breaks. Have that chat with your colleague, when you are an extravert. When you are an introvert, take a stroll, or check our blog post about networking.
How to not get spent
So whether you are presenting something, meeting a client, or writing a difficult report, the results you get when you are spending 100% of your energy on these tasks are usually not optimal.
There’s power in relaxation. Take it from Hugh.
