An MGI client recently called me in a panic.
He was feeling overwhelmed by all the demands landscape pros face this time of year. He was running from job to appointment and back again, with sales to close, numbers to hit, and a team to manage and motivate.
I listened to him voice his concerns and vent his frustrations, and when he had gotten to the end of his very long list I gave him some advice.
I told him to take some time off.
Naturally, he thought I was nuts.
He resisted. Said he couldn’t possibly step away now. I told him he couldn’t possibly not. I told him he was too stressed out to be effective. He needed to get away from work and hit the reset button. He resisted more.
And then the other day he called me again. He had taken the weekend off—no work, no work-related phone calls, no e-mail. “I needed that,” he said. The same challenges were still waiting for him Monday morning, but now he had the perspective and the energy to meet them head on.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed—and I don’t know a landscape pro who’s not right now—schedule some time away. Spend the day with your family. Go for a swim. Take a nap. Buy your dad a beer.