Goofing Off is Good for You ... and Your Business

Reading  an article in Fast Company, Hard Work's Overrated- Maybe Detrimental, I found myself releasing a sigh of self acceptance. As a recovering workaholic I mostly feel like a big fat underachiever when I read biz mags. I compare myself to the 20 and 30 somethings setting the world on fire, working 100 hour weeks and living off the buzz of creating something new, plus a few gallons of  Red Bull and Starbucks each week. I remember those days and nights when I would work feverishly building new businesses to change the world. It was an  exciting time. Life was a constant high.

When I wasn't working - which  was almost never - I was working out intensely, traveling for work, reading for work or socializing with friends from work, which always  generated more exciting ideas to work on. 

After years of operating faster than the speed of light I began to experience the law of diminishing returns. Not only was I enjoying work less, but I was becoming less effective, though working more hours. So after a sabbatical of living in a small fishing village in Mexico, operating at the speed of flowers blooming, I discovered a new way to work. It includes lots of goofing off.

I am prone to return to my old habits when I'm stressed about a problem. So when I find myself in front of my laptop tapping my foot impatiently as a site loads, or checking my email incessantly, I know the "aholic" in me has taken over and it's time for a break. At that point I have stopped being effective and the more I work the less effective I will be. 

It doesn't much matter what I do to shake things up as long as I'm not working. I've found over an over again that problems sort themselves out, not when I'm trying to solve them, but when I'm riding my bike, dancing in my living room, walking by the ocean, digging in the garden or reading a book  purely for enjoyment. 

When I can slip away from that which is causing me stress and find the pleasure in goofing off, something shifts  in me. My mind wanders. I let my guard down. Creativity starts to flow. I feel more peaceful and open to opportunities. Good things seem to happen.  

Reaching new members for our business is one of the challenges I am working on all the time. If I let myself, I can get quite stressed about it. Taking a much needed break from work a few weeks ago, my husband and I enjoyed a Friday night Tantra Class .  We went just to experience the pleasure of being in each other's company in a completely focused and open-hearted way. When the class ended we spoke with a friend we hadn't seen in a while. She offered to introduce us to an estate planning firm. She did, and that introduction lead to our most recent joint venture, introducing Bcelebrated to many new members. That might never had happened if I'd stayed glued to my computer working on ways to reach a wider audience.