130 Days Off Per Year

130 Days Off Per Year

By Steve Pavlina

Can you summon(ˈsəmən) the self-awareness(əˈwe(ə)rnis) to recognize(ˈrekigˌnīz,ˈrekə(g)ˌnīz) when you’re putting in 8+ hours at your desk, but you only get 1-2 hours of REAL, meaningful, focused work done? How many days do you need to have like that before accepting that it’s time for a serious(ˈsi(ə)rēəs) reset of your motivation(ˌmōtəˈvāSHən), drive, and focus?

What’s the solution? In many cases a great solution is to take more time off. It’s often counter-intuitive(inˈt(y)o͞oitiv), but it works.

One simple reason is that when work time feels overly abundant(əˈbəndənt), it’s very easy to waste(wāst) it. Unproductive pseudo(ˈso͞odō)-work creeps(krēp) into each day… until most of each day has drifted(drift) away from our core value-generating activities.

In his book The Success Principles(ˈprinsəpəl), Jack Canfield(ˈkanˌfēld) recommends taking 130-150 free days each year. A free day means that from midnight to midnight (a full 24 hours), you do no work whatsoever. No work-related email. No social media. No dwelling(ˈdweliNG) on work-related problems. You don’t touch any work-related activities unless you’re dealt(dēl) an absolute(ˈabsəˌlo͞ot,ˌabsəˈlo͞ot) emergency(iˈmərjənsē).

When you’ve found work that engages(enˈgāj) you, it’s so easy to allow work-related activities to bleed(blēd) over into every single day, including so-called off days. I’m as guilty(ˈgiltē) of this as any entrepreneur(-ˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝or). I find it especially(iˈspeSHəlē) difficult not to work since my field is personal development. My work and personal life are already intertwined(ˌintərˈtwīn), and I can work from anywhere.

You may be wondering: What would you actually do with 130-150 days off each year? Without work to fill the time, what are you supposed to do instead? Watch TV? Play video games? Go hiking(hīk)?

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https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2014/12/130-days-off-per-year/