Summer is over, Kids are back at school and you may be overwhelmed and wanting to get back to peak performance quickly.
As a high performing professional and parent, how do you get back to being productive and on top of your game after a great summer?
Are you feeling overwhelmed and just racing back into being busy but not super productive? You want to be a rockstar at work and at home, but there is so much going on. Do not lose that relaxed state of mind and intention for being a champion this fall.
Before summer vacation, summer camps, BBQs, the beach, mountains, pools and popsicles, I was focused and on top of my game. We all went on vacation in August, then we raced around to get the kids and ourselves ready for school. We knew we had a million things waiting for us in work world, but we knew we had to get in some relaxation, family time and get ready for school. So, we tried to put the phone and laptop down for a little while longer and be fully present and reconnect with what actually matters.
Sadly, summer is over! Last week was our first full week back at work and all and our kids are fully in school mode. The kids get back into routine quickly. But, we take a little longer given the volume of tasks and work that needs to be handled.
Does it feel like your head is racing with all that has to get done? Yet you aren’t sure where to pick up other than just diving headfirst and getting back to work. But is that really productive and does that get you quickly to peak performance?
It is healthy habits, or as we call it, living “Habitually Inspired” that gets us back to peak performance quickly. Your healthy routines bring you back to your center of greatness, so you can quickly return to your state of peak performance.
Early in May, I finished writing my first book after coming up with the idea during last summer’s vacation and worked on it from fall to spring, writing every morning. I then had to switch gears quickly and complete grant applications for Community Energy Plans for a dozen municipalities. I then immediately got to work on an inspiring speech that I had to memorize, film and submit by the end of July.
During this time, I was also maintaining my existing clients, interviewing editors and working on launching our new website for speaking, the book and inspirational courses. It was such a super productive spring and early summer.
But by the first week of August, I was ready to take a break, spend a ton of time with my wife and 5 kids and enjoy the fresh Vermont mountain air. It was time to recharge. I went on a weekend Ayahuasca retreat in Maine and came back to take 2 weeks off at the end of August and just enjoyed being free with our kids. During that time off, we did have to do back to school shopping, fill out a bunch of online forms and take care of family tasks, but I tried to put work behind for 2 whole weeks.
That whole time I took off, work tasks were in the back of my mind and I felt guilty that I wasn’t handling things that were piling up. Yet, I knew that recharging was essential. You have to fully unplug in order to properly recharge.
During vacation, I got to the gym or yoga class every day, I journaled, and I spent a ton of time just enjoying being fully present with our kids. Having fun with 5 kids from 2–15 isn’t exactly relaxing but it is what I love and is also exhausting. Being fully present with my kids is also the most important thing I can do.
While having fun with my kids, I didn’t worry about the minutia of life.
As Richard Carlson said, “don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s all small stuff.”
It is okay to leave all that small stuff behind. It is still there when you get back to “reality.”
You can’t care for others unless you care for yourself.
So hopefully you took some time this summer to care for yourself, even while having fun with those you love most.
But you are back now and want to hit the fall with full force to be your super high performing self that you and others expect. The fastest way to return to peak performance is to put in place healthy routines that bring you back quickly. Even if you leave the habits behind for a few days or weeks (or even months), they are there to get you back to peak performance.
Wake by 5am
Meditate
Journal
Exercise or yoga
Read a spiritual book
1 hour of flow on my Top Priority
30–60 minutes of quality inspiring content
PM Journal my daily wins and BIG 3 rocks (priorities) for the next day
These are my daily habits that keep me focused and at my peak performance. I have written about them in other articles, but coming back to this first full week of the fall reminded me how incredibly essential they are and why I do this.
Over the summer, I was really not on top of my habits and did not do many of them most days. I didn’t even track my daily habits in July and August, even though I typically track them every day in my Habitually Inspired HabiTracker. I did not beat myself up for getting off my productive routine, although I missed it a little. Instead, I gave myself grace to recover, renew and refresh, so I could come back stronger than ever.
When I got to the first full week of fall and wanted to return to peak performance, my habits were there waiting for me. Like riding a bike, I just got on and started peddling. My habits got me back last week to focusing on my BIG 3 priorities for the quarter, for the month and for the week and these guided my BIG 3 priorities to accomplish for each day. Everything else is just noise. Stay focused only your BIG 3.
I got back to texting my BIG 3 priorities daily to my accountability partner, Lori. She and I have been doing this for years. I got back to meditating and journaling and I got back to writing. I handled only the most essential client tasks and I was productive. But starting the fall off right, I was not just busy going through the motions. I was completely intentional, on task and did what mattered, ignoring the minutia and every little email that was irrelevant.
Why? Because that is what I have done year after year by tracking my habits. I had a familiar practice to get me back to peak performance. This wasn’t always the case though. I used to busy my days being pulled by whatever call, text, email or distraction someone else put in front of me. The way I used to live was completely reactive and kept me from moving forward quickly on my top priorities. Year after year, the results were the same. Most of us live in a reactive state, allowing others to set the tone for our day.
As I wrote this last Friday, before Noon, I had already handled my BIG 3 priorities for the week and was much more productive than I used to be when we get back for the fall. It used to take my well in to October to really hit my stride, then all of the sudden it was the holidays and I had not accomplished all that I set out to get done that fall. This year, my habits brought me back to peak performance quickly.
It is still September and later this week, I am planning an exciting and powerful Q4 to close the year strong so that I can Thrive in 2025. I can look further into the future because my habits brought me back to peak performance quickly this fall.
Visit benparvey.com to download our Habitually Inspired HabiTracker, get inspired and learn more ways to Thrive in 2025.
