1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 1: episode is going to be a longer one part of 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 1: the series where I interview fascinating people about how they 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: take their days from great to awesome and any advice 6 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: they have for the rest of us. So today I 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: am delighted to welcome doctor James Hewitt to the show. 8 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: James is a human performance scientist and the author of 9 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: the book Regenerative Performance. So, James, welcome to the show. 10 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 2: Thank you, it's great to be here. 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: Yeah, why don't you tell our listeners a little bit 12 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: about yourself. 13 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 2: So I've been fascinated with human performance for as long 14 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 2: as I can remember, and certainly a long time before 15 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 2: I called it human performance. That fascination started when I 16 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 2: was a kid. I was always fascinated by anything that 17 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 2: went fast, so think space, rockets, racing cars, anything with wheels. 18 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 2: And eventually that interest led me to discover this sport 19 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 2: called road cycling racing. And so I was enamored by 20 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 2: this idea that you can hit speeds of one hundred 21 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 2: kilometers an hour on tires if you centimeters thick and 22 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 2: It's amazing what you can convince yourself is a good 23 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 2: idea before your preference of cortex is fully developed. But 24 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 2: to cut a long story short, I moved to the 25 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 2: Santa France to pursue this dream of becoming a pro cyclist. 26 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 2: That didn't work out, so I returned to the UK 27 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 2: to study sports science, eventually set up a coaching business, 28 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 2: ended up working with what I call knowledge workers now, 29 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 2: so people who think for a living, because I found 30 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 2: out that as much as I wanted to work with 31 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 2: pro athletes, they couldn't afford to pay me, and ended 32 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 2: up working with these really interesting people who had very 33 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 2: demanding jobs in London, where I was based at the time, 34 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 2: who for some reason, after working eighty hours a week, 35 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 2: wanted to go and race one hundred and eighty miles 36 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 2: every weekend. And this led to this fascination with the workplace, 37 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 2: but also this revelation but the same things that were 38 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,559 Speaker 2: holding them back from performing well on their bike were 39 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 2: also stopping them from reaching their potential in their professional life, 40 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 2: and this really often came down to this imbalance between 41 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 2: efforts and recovery, and so I ended up developing this 42 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,360 Speaker 2: conceptualization of knowledge work thinking work like a cognitive endurance 43 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 2: activity where optimal performance, peak performance, sustainable performance, however you 44 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,799 Speaker 2: want to frame it, emerges from this integration of effort 45 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 2: and recovery rather than this endless pursuit of being always on. 46 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 2: And that's been my area of focus and passion for 47 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,960 Speaker 2: the best part of fifteen years now excellent. 48 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: So there are parallels then, between even what we're doing 49 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: sitting at our desks and someone cycling, you know, hundreds 50 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: of miles. There is a parallel there are you're saying. 51 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, I think there's several. The most fundamental I 52 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 2: think relates to a general principle that sustained performance for humans, 53 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 2: whether it's cognitive or physical, relies on us oscillating between 54 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 2: periods of deliberate effort and effective recovery where we recharge 55 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 2: and regenerate, and if we get that mix right, then 56 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 2: we don't just bounce back, we can actually get stronger 57 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 2: over time. There's this really interesting concept in sports science 58 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 2: that some of your listeners may have heard of called supercompensation, 59 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 2: and it describes how if we induce a load, we 60 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 2: work hard, actually following that we experience fatigue. Our performance 61 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,959 Speaker 2: might drop even but it provides a stimulus for growth 62 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 2: that if we have the right resources available in the 63 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 2: context of sport, that might be adequate nutrition, enough sleep, 64 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 2: enough time, then we don't just bounce back, we actually 65 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 2: get stronger over time. And that general principle I think 66 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 2: applies to the workplace too. And if you think about 67 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 2: a career, for example, what at one time would have 68 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 2: felt overwhelming early in a career, over time actually feels 69 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 2: very manageable because we are super compensating. We're learning to 70 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 2: tolerate and grow through that load. Unfortunately, sometimes we can 71 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 2: get that relationship between effort and recovery wrong. In sport, 72 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 2: you might describe that as overtraining. Technically we call it 73 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 2: non functional overreaching, which isn't very memorable, is it. But 74 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 2: in a workplace we might call it burnout, and that 75 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 2: can be quite challenging to recover from. In a similar 76 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 2: way that for athletes, overtraining or this nonfunctional overreaching can 77 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 2: be difficult to recover from. So at a very fundamental level, 78 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 2: I think there are general principles that govern cognitive and 79 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 2: physical effort, and we can use those general principles to 80 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 2: try and design work and life in a way that 81 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 2: might enable us to achieve our goals, but do so 82 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 2: in a way that doesn't harm our health and well 83 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 2: being in the process. 84 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: Well, that whole idea of effective recovery, I think a 85 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: lot of people are unclear what that would actually mean, 86 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: right that, what does it mean to have rest that 87 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: has a function as opposed to just being when you 88 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: stop doing whatever you are doing. 89 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 2: So I often think about this in three dimensions, and 90 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 2: anyone who speaks to me for any length of time 91 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 2: soon picks up on the fact that I think in 92 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 2: frameworks for better or worse, and maybe too much. So 93 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 2: sometimes when I think about recovery, I'm often thinking about 94 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 2: the replenishment of three at three dimensions, three of resources 95 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 2: or three types of resources. You could think about it. 96 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,280 Speaker 2: So we've got physical resources, we've got emotional resources, we've 97 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 2: got cognitive resources. So there is an aspect of recovery 98 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 2: from both physical and cognitive effort that is physical. We know, 99 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 2: for example, during sleep, that adequate quality sleep actually involves 100 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 2: some physiological processes, some physical processes in our brain. They 101 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 2: think it might even be associated with some type of 102 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 2: cleaning process associated with something called the glymphatic system, which 103 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 2: you can almost think about as the plumbing for your brain. 104 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 2: And we also know that recovery has this emotional component. 105 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 2: Many of us will have experienced this. Imagine your typical workday. 106 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 2: We hold it together with our colleagues. For the most part. 107 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 2: You might be in a difficult meeting. You hold your tongue, 108 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 2: you stay quiet. There's a difficult interaction with a colleague, 109 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 2: but you're self regulated and you're calm and you say 110 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 2: the right thing, and you get home and you're with 111 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,359 Speaker 2: loved ones, family friends. They often get the worst of 112 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 2: us because we're emotionally depleted and we need environments that 113 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: will help us to emotionally recover, to restore those emotional resources. 114 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 2: For some people, that might be people who recharge them. 115 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 2: For others, it might be time on your own. And 116 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,039 Speaker 2: then finally, we've got these cognitive resources that need to 117 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,880 Speaker 2: be restored. You know, we're deploying cognitive resources all day. 118 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,960 Speaker 2: We're solving complex problems, we're switching between tasks, we're under 119 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 2: time pressure, and at the end of the day, we 120 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:49,479 Speaker 2: need time. We need space where cognitive load decreases so 121 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 2: that we can restore those cognitive resources. And again, you've 122 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 2: probably experienced this. You know, you get to the end 123 00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 2: of the day and you've been making difficult decisions, you've 124 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 2: been solving complex problems, you've been pulled in more directions, 125 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:01,920 Speaker 2: but you're on top of it. And you get home 126 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:03,719 Speaker 2: and someone says, well, what do you want for dinner? 127 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 2: And he said, I've got no idea. That feels like 128 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 2: an insurmountable decision. And because we're cognitively depleted and so 129 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 2: we need to be in environments where we can restore 130 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 2: those cognitive resources. But unfortunately many of us live and 131 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 2: work in a way where that recovery doesn't happen, where 132 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 2: you know, we're under emotional stress. Sometimes that's out of 133 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 2: our control outside of work. Sometimes though, it's within our control, 134 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 2: because we end up doom scrolling social media and seeing 135 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 2: all the terrible things that are happening in the world. 136 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 2: Not to say that we want to ignore those things, 137 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 2: but the access that we have to this constant stream 138 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 2: of terrible news is very unnatural for a human. For 139 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 2: most of human history, that wasn't possible. Similarly, cognitively, we 140 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 2: sometimes engage in kind of pseudo work. You open our 141 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 2: laptop and are we really productive or are you just 142 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 2: trying to distract ourselves from something else or make ourselves 143 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 2: feel better because we're still working and finally, physically, sometimes 144 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 2: inadvertently we end up compromising our physical recovery without realizing it. 145 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 2: And the classic example of that for many knowledge workers 146 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 2: is you get to the end of the day, you 147 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 2: have a glass of wine. You think it relaxes you, 148 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 2: and it might do psychologically in the short term, but 149 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 2: even a single glass of wine can impair your physical 150 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 2: recovery by about ten percent because of its disrupting the 151 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 2: effect on sleep. So I hope think that gives you 152 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 2: a bit of an idea and a framework to think 153 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 2: about recovery. 154 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: Absolutely, Well, we're going to take a quick ad break 155 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: and then we'll be back talking about how we can 156 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: use this knowledge during an average work day. Well, I 157 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:41,679 Speaker 1: am back talking with doctor James Hewitt, who is a 158 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: human performance scientist and the author of the book Regenerative Performance. So, James, 159 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: we've been talking about the various things that you know 160 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: we need to recover on these various dimensions. I would 161 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: imagine even during the course of a work day. It 162 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: doesn't need to just be at the end of a 163 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: work day that we build in how these moments of regeneration. 164 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: What might it look like a workday to build in regeneration, 165 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: so we aren't reaching the point where you know, by 166 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,959 Speaker 1: three pm people have kind of lost it and are 167 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: having nothing else good happen after that. 168 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 2: So my number one tip would be to tackle what 169 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 2: it's sometimes described as productivity theater, and this describes this 170 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 2: challenge that many of us have that we feel a 171 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 2: need to look busy rather than being able to focus 172 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 2: on being productive. And that might look like meetings that 173 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 2: you attend because of fear of missing out rather than 174 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,679 Speaker 2: feeling that you truly add value, or trying to make 175 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 2: sure that your kind of status in your communication channels 176 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 2: is active and responding to chat messages continually just to 177 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 2: show that you're online, rather than being able to focus 178 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 2: on your highest priority tasks, and as a result of that, 179 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 2: we end up in this state of continuous what you 180 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 2: might call constant partial attention, rather than being able to 181 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 2: really focus when it matters and then properly recover. So 182 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 2: my number one tip would be to try and tackle 183 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 2: some of that, to really think carefully about when we're 184 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:09,439 Speaker 2: falling into this pattern of pseudo work of partial attention 185 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 2: and try and create opportunities where your focused in periods 186 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 2: of more deliberate attention, and then you have time to recharge. 187 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,680 Speaker 2: And those recharge moments can be effective even if they're 188 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 2: only five or ten minutes long. Sometimes they're called micro breaks, 189 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 2: And to give you a practical example of that, it 190 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,319 Speaker 2: might be that you reduce your default meeting length down 191 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 2: from thirty minutes to twenty five or from sixty to 192 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 2: fifty to create these little microbreaks in between, rather than 193 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 2: having kind of the intensity and the utility of the 194 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 2: meeting just drift off at the end and fall into 195 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 2: that kind of pseudo work pattern. Or maybe because the 196 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,119 Speaker 2: meeting's only half an hour versus sixty, instead of everyone multitasking, 197 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 2: everyone's fully present and engaged, which creates a bit of 198 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 2: time for people to take breaks. So it's really about 199 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 2: being deliberate about those microbreaks, and it might be that 200 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 2: you even put them in your calendar, if we put 201 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 2: everything often in our current except for time to recharge. 202 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 2: But I often encourage people to think about it like 203 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:06,439 Speaker 2: a pit stop. I've worked quite a lot in most 204 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 2: sport in Formula one over the years, and I often 205 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 2: talk about microbreaks like cognitive, emotional, even physical pit stops 206 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:17,559 Speaker 2: that you introduce at brief periods throughout. 207 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: The day, absolutely, and if I'm managing a team, what 208 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: can I do to create an environment where people are 209 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: not as tempted to do these bits of productivity theater. 210 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 2: I think the fundamental driver of a culture which enables 211 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:39,840 Speaker 2: people to work effectively and also rest efficiently is that 212 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 2: the leader creates an environment where there's people experience psychological safety, 213 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 2: which is underpinned by trust fundamentally, because the data would 214 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 2: indicate that a significant portion of this productivity theater is 215 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 2: driven by the gap between how productive employees feel and 216 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 2: how productive leaders think their team their teams are being, 217 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,320 Speaker 2: and that trust gap often ends up getting filled with 218 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 2: this productivity theater. So I think leaders need to really 219 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 2: think carefully about whether they're creating environments where people feel 220 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 2: supported or surveiled. And unfortunately, in remote and hybrid settings, 221 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 2: we're seeing this trend towards time monitoring activity monitoring software, 222 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 2: which in my view is really counterproductive because you're eroding 223 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 2: that psychological safety. This is all part of a bigger 224 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 2: topic around how do you truly measure productivity in knowledge 225 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 2: work where we think for a living. I think there's 226 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,520 Speaker 2: a bigger conversation about perhaps needing a shift towards focusing 227 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:46,320 Speaker 2: on outcomes rather than hours worked. You know. Unfortunately, there 228 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 2: was a survey published which suggested that many HR executives 229 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 2: still believe that high performers work longer hours, which indicates 230 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 2: that there's still this general belief that hours worked are 231 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 2: a good proxy for productivity. That may be the case, 232 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 2: but often it isn't. So as a leader, are you 233 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 2: creating an environment of psychological safety? Are you trusting people 234 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,200 Speaker 2: to produce the outcomes you've asked them to produce, regardless 235 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 2: of how long that takes. But the third thing I 236 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 2: would say to leaders is what behaviors are you modeling? 237 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,319 Speaker 2: So you might choose to schedule those micro breaks in 238 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 2: your calendar and make that visible to your team so 239 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 2: that there's implicit permission for them to do that too. 240 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: You know, John Maxwell, Leadership Gury, said decades ago, leaders 241 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:35,679 Speaker 2: reproduce who they are, and I think that is incredibly 242 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 2: pertinent to many leadership behaviors, but perhaps particularly to this 243 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 2: balanced between effort and recovery, where if leaders aren't visibly 244 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 2: recovering taking these micro breaks showing that we want people 245 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 2: to work really hard but also to rest, well, it's 246 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,599 Speaker 2: very unlikely that their teams are going to do that independently. 247 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: So what advice do you have for I mean, a 248 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: lot of my listeners are people who have kids at home, 249 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: for instance, which means that time off work is not 250 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: automatically going to be rejuvenating right like that. There's going 251 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: to be a million things going on over the weekend. 252 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,199 Speaker 1: The evening is spent getting people fed, make sure they 253 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: do their homework, go to bed, all that stuff. It's 254 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: not exactly naturally going to be rejuvenating activity. What can 255 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: people in those situations do to make time off work 256 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: still feel restorative given that you still do have to 257 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: go in and put in your time the next day. 258 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 2: I mean, it's going to sound pretty obvious, but for me, 259 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 2: it's about trying to find ways to emphasize the quality 260 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 2: of the recovery and accepting that the quantity is probably 261 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 2: going to be compromised. I mean, I can relate my 262 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 2: wife and I've got two kids. They're a bit older 263 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 2: now their teenage at where they're eleven and fourteen, we've 264 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 2: got a teenager, but we have had many years of 265 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 2: when you're not working outside of work, it's kind of 266 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 2: a different kind of labor often a lot of emotional labor, 267 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 2: if not physical labor of having to just do you stuff. 268 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 2: So I get it. You know that the life can 269 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 2: be tough inside and outside of work. But what I'd 270 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 2: often encourage people to do, and certainly we've tried to do, 271 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 2: is to find these moments where you can do at 272 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 2: least something to restore you, even if it's only brief. 273 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 2: So there's a really interesting framework called the Recovery Experiences framework, 274 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,600 Speaker 2: and it describes four different experiences which can be really 275 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 2: helpful for restoring those resources cognitive, emotional, physical, even The 276 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 2: first aspect is that we try and find an opportunity 277 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 2: where a cognitive and physical load does decrease. That might 278 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 2: involve five minutes where you literally put your feet up 279 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 2: and change your posture. Inevitably you'll be interrupted by someone 280 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 2: wanting something, but try and enjoy those five minutes while 281 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 2: you're doing it. So relaxing. In contrast, some type of 282 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 2: activity can be really helpful. Now you might not have 283 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 2: time to go to the gym, you might have time 284 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 2: to do something structured, but could you may be shift 285 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 2: you can meet around so that you can integrate a 286 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,440 Speaker 2: ten minute walk, so park slightly further away from the 287 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 2: office if you're driving, so you have to walk to 288 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 2: your car. Might not be possible for everyone, but it 289 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:14,400 Speaker 2: may be possible for some integrate these micro movements, these 290 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 2: bits of activity post work, and that can have quite 291 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 2: a significant positive effect. The third component is regis something 292 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 2: called mastery mastery experiences, and this describes the restorative effect 293 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 2: of doing something ideally non work related, where we can 294 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 2: experience a sense of progress and achievement. Now for some 295 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,440 Speaker 2: people that might be hobbies, but for people who are 296 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 2: really time constrained, I can suggest have you thought about 297 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 2: trying to find a book that you like and it 298 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 2: could be fiction, maybe not, but many people find that 299 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 2: even five minutes of reading each day gives them this 300 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 2: sense of progress, and particularly it's something they're interested in 301 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 2: that engages them. And the fourth component is control, being 302 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 2: able to experience something where you've got a sense of 303 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:06,920 Speaker 2: autonomy over your time. So you're doing something where you're 304 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 2: choosing to invest that time and energy in the way 305 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 2: that you want to again, even if it's only for 306 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,920 Speaker 2: a short time. So we've got relaxation, we've got these 307 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 2: mastery experiences, control experiences, and then ideally we should experience 308 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:22,200 Speaker 2: a sense of detachment where hopefully we get this sense 309 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 2: of mental distance and there's even for a brief period 310 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,640 Speaker 2: an ability to experience some time away from those work 311 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 2: related thoughts. So try and find those little opportunities in 312 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 2: your pace work, even if it's five or ten minutes, 313 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 2: and empersise quality over quantity, and you might find that 314 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 2: your experience some benefits. 315 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 1: Absolutely. Well, We're going to take a word more quick 316 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: ad break and then I'll be back with more from 317 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: James Hewitt. Well, we are back. I am talking with 318 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: doctor James Hewitt, who is a human performance scientist and 319 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: author of the book Regenerative Performance. We've been talking about 320 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: ways to have little micro breaks during the workday and 321 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: also maybe seese moments of rejuvenation even if we have 322 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: a busy personal life, kids at home and things like that. 323 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 1: So we often talk about productivity routines on this show, 324 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: and I really enjoyed your sort of making fun a 325 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 1: little bit of morning routines in your book that you 326 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: mentioned that few morning routines survive the first contact with Monday. 327 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: I'm curious if you have any morning routines now that 328 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,880 Speaker 1: you've do now or have tried in the past ones 329 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: that are more sort of sustainable or realistic for busy people. 330 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 2: To my morning routine. The only thing that is really 331 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 2: pretty much non negotiable for me is that first coffee 332 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 2: of the day and trying to be mindful and present 333 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 2: when I'm making and drinking that coffee. So I'm a 334 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,400 Speaker 2: big coffee fan, and I've got a really over elaborate 335 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 2: orange neared espresso machine at home, which I love, and 336 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 2: one of the things I love about it is that 337 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 2: it's a very manual and involved process. The grinding, the distributing, 338 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 2: the grinds, the kind of the tamping, all that kind 339 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,639 Speaker 2: of stuff that anyone who's obsessed with espresso like I 340 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 2: am will know. But that process of just being present, 341 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 2: of making it, of drinking it for me has a 342 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 2: grounding effect each morning, and obviously the caffeine helps a 343 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 2: bit as well. And so what it encourage people to 344 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 2: do is, if you do find that some type of 345 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:34,120 Speaker 2: morning routine is helpful, try to find the minimum viable 346 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 2: expression of that routine, because many people do find that 347 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:42,119 Speaker 2: having something consistent is helpful. My challenge is when people 348 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 2: believe that you need this super elaborate kind of five 349 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 2: step routine and because the problem is it ends up, 350 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 2: instead of supporting peak performance, which is what a lot 351 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 2: of these influencers would say, actually ends up reinforcing fragility 352 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:58,440 Speaker 2: because when life gets in the way and you can't 353 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 2: follow this elaborate morning routine that influencer has told you must, 354 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:04,399 Speaker 2: suddenly you start the day feeling bad that you failed. 355 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 2: So try and find that thing for you. Maybe for 356 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 2: you it is coffee. For other people, I know, it's 357 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 2: like again, maybe reading a little bit of a book, 358 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 2: might be going for a walk, might be walking the dog. 359 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 2: But can you find a five minute practice that grounds 360 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,000 Speaker 2: you and provides that level of consistency so at least 361 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 2: you start the day on your schedule, which I think 362 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,479 Speaker 2: is the key really, rather than feeling like you're always 363 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:28,120 Speaker 2: starting it on someone else's. 364 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, having something that you can actually succeed at 365 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,120 Speaker 1: doing is a good way to start the day, because 366 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: there's nothing worse than starting the day feeling like a 367 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,879 Speaker 1: failure already and it's not even seven am. So we 368 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: don't want to do that to anyone. So James I 369 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,439 Speaker 1: always ask my guests a question, which is, what is 370 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: something you have done recently to take a day from 371 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: great to awesome. 372 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:56,400 Speaker 2: So for me, it's about rediscovering the value of time blocking. Now. 373 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 2: The funny thing is is I've realized that a lot 374 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 2: of the things that I write about and speak about 375 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 2: are probably related to the things I really struggle with. 376 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 2: And a lot of people think I'm a really organized person, 377 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 2: and I really aspire to be, but I think my 378 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 2: default state is actually quite chaotic, and so I've had 379 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 2: to create all these routines and systems and processes to 380 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:24,120 Speaker 2: try and deal with my underlying chaos. And I fell 381 00:21:24,119 --> 00:21:26,800 Speaker 2: out their habit of something that I always used to do, 382 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 2: which was to plan my day and look at her 383 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 2: to do list in a very action oriented way and 384 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 2: give myself specific time blocks for the things that I 385 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 2: needed to do. And it was because ironically I had 386 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 2: so much to do. It felt overwhelming that I felt 387 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:41,120 Speaker 2: like I didn't have time to do that little planning process, 388 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 2: which is just ridiculous because it's probably when I most 389 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,959 Speaker 2: need to do it. But I've reintroduced that and it 390 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:49,400 Speaker 2: not only has it made me feel calmer and more 391 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,360 Speaker 2: in control, it's actually helped me stay focused because these 392 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,679 Speaker 2: time blocks giving myself a target I need to achieve 393 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 2: X in fifteen minutes helps me to avoid getting distracted 394 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 2: and pulled into other things. So that has helped me 395 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 2: shift from a good day, which is I get a 396 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 2: few things done, to a great day, which is not 397 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 2: only do I get things done, I do it in 398 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 2: a way that feels efficient, effective, decisive, focused, and I've 399 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 2: got time for other things outside of that as well. 400 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: Absolutely, time spent planning is almost always returned back to 401 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 1: you in terms of making a return on the investment there. 402 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: So what are you looking forward to right now? 403 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 2: Well, I'm about to go into my final block of 404 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 2: travel for the year and I've got a refund trip 405 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,120 Speaker 2: coming up to the States. I spent an increasing amount 406 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 2: of time in the US, even though I'm based in 407 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 2: the UK, speaking at events there. So I'm going to 408 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:40,919 Speaker 2: be over in Nashville in a few weeks and then 409 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 2: finally in Detroit, and I'm really looking forward to that trip. 410 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 2: I absolutely love speaking. There's some great clients of speaking 411 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:49,959 Speaker 2: with there, so that's going to be fun to end 412 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 2: the year with some great people and some really fun events. 413 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,959 Speaker 1: Yes, ended on a high note for sure. So James, 414 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 1: where can people find you? 415 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 2: So my website Doctor Jane Sewit dot com is a 416 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,680 Speaker 2: good place to begin typing the doctor. It's important because 417 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 2: there was a guy called James Hewett who had an 418 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 2: affair with Princess Diana and if you just type that's 419 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 2: not me, so that's a good place. And then also 420 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 2: I'm quite active on LinkedIn and you can find me 421 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,200 Speaker 2: there and increasingly on Instagram as well, behind the scenes 422 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 2: and stuff. 423 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: Awesome. Well, James, thank you so much for joining us. 424 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 1: Thank you to everyone for listening. If you have feedback 425 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: about this or any other episode, you can always reach 426 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. And in 427 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:34,159 Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's 428 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening 429 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,680 Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, 430 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:57,360 Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 431 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts 432 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 433 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:13,120 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.