“Work hard!”

That’s the message we’re told when we’re kids.

If you want to succeed in anything important in life, you’ve got to work hard for it.

You see this on motivational posters all the time.

Images of mountain peaks are accompanied by quotes like these:

“Great things come from hard work and perseverance.”

“Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard and succeed on purpose.”

“There is simply no substitute for hard work when it comes to achieving success.”

“Work harder than anybody you’ve ever seen. That’s what I believe.”

“With hard work and effort, you can achieve anything.”

BIG YAWN!

These platitudes are not only boring.

They’re also wrong.

Or, at least, they are crass simplifications that misguide many people.

Particularly when it comes to setting up a second income from home outside of your regular working hours.

Because if you focus on work, work, work, you’re only going to do one thing.

And that’s BURN OUT.

Pretty quickly too.

Because here’s the problem…

Many people assume that to create a home business you need to work for hours on end, burning the midnight oil, sacrificing what’s important.

The more work I put in, they think, the more I will get out.

But that’s not true.

Quite often, the more work you put in, the more likely you’re going to run out of steam and give up on your project altogether.

Because it’s not about how much you work.

It’s about how and when you focus your efforts – and on what tasks.

And it’s as much about NOT working as it is about working.

Let me explain.

The Problem With Pushing Through

When you’re starting out on a major project, the temptation is to go all-out for success.

You put in long hours on screen… you multi-task to get more things done… you fill your head with knowledge…. and then you crash into bed, exhausted but feeling GOOD.

You’re doing what you think you’re supposed to do.

So you cannot fail!

It’s almost as if you can see the finish line already – and you’re thinking of all that lovely profit that you’re going to spend on fancy holidays and expensive cars.

Well, that’s how it might feel at first.

But the work soon takes its toll.

Because as you proceed, more and more tasks continue to appear, while the novelty wears off and brain-fatigue sets in.

It’s like climbing a mountain peak only to see another loom beyond that.

You begin to feel doubtful, weary, a little anxious.

You feel like your focus is beginning to drift and your resolve is faltering.

Obstacles and hiccups become really infuriating.

And you start to make mistakes.

But you know that “Hard work is the answer” so you push through.

Surely if you stay at the computer, hammering away at the keys, your will get further, faster.

After all…

IT SAYS SO ON THE MOTIVATIONAL POSTER!

However, this isn’t what you should do.

What you should actually do is…

STOP WORKING!

The Secret of ‘Scheduled Decompression’

When you take time out from a project – even for just 5 or 10 minutes – it has a powerful effect on your concentration levels.

It’s known as ‘scheduled decompression’ or ‘intentional rest’.

Taking long, purposeful breaks helps replenish your mental energy and reduce stress, meaning that you have much more focus when you return to the task.

This is because your prefrontal cortex, a key to concentration and impulse control, becomes taxed and strained during periods of prolonged work.

Taking breaks is a way of reversing that problem.

For instance, a recent meta-study from 2022 found that micro-breaks (ie. short, frequent pauses) significantly enhance both your energy and performance levels.

That particular study concluded that “the longer the break, the greater the boost was on performance.”

It even suggested that for highly demanding work projects, you probably need MORE than a 10 minute break.

Other studies have shown that taking breaks also helps boost creativity, because it gives your brain the chance to digest information, solve problems, and store memories.

In other words, working harder is absolutely not the answer…. and working less most certainly is.

Good news, right?!

There’s only one caveat…

Your break cannot simply involve you scrolling through social media, watching TV or playing a video game.

What you need to do is purposefully un-focus your mind by doing something attentive.

That could mean wandering around the garden looking at plants…

Sitting on a chair and breathing mindfully for 10 minutes…

Going for a short walk…

Looking out at the window to observe street life…

Closely listening to some music…

Playing an instrument…

Doing some yoga or stretching exercises…

Cooking a meal…

Talking to a loved one (but NOT about your project!)…

The key is to make sure you properly engineer these breaks to fit into your day at regular intervals.

Techniques for Decompression

You’ll see lots of differing advice online about how many breaks to take, and for how long.

I recommend experimenting, because each of us has different levels of focus and attention, so there’s no ‘one size fits all’ for this.

One technique is the 52/17 rule where you work for 52 minutes, then take a 17-minute break.

Another is to work for 60-90 minutes then take a 15-30 minute break.

Or you could work in 20 minute bursts with a 10 minute break each time.

You can also alternate big breaks with micro-breaks…

So that could mean taking a 10 minute break every 30 minutes during a 3-hour session… then stopping for two hours…. before resuming another 3 hour session.

Again, this will depend on how you are fitting your second income plans into your daily life.

You’ll know the technique is effective when you feel your energy and concentration levels lift, while making fewer mistakes.

It’s also worth observing – then noting down – those times when you DO feel fatigued, grumpy and distracted.

This might mean adjusting your decompression intervals…

Or it could mean that you should avoid scheduling harder, more demanding tasks at those times.

Over a period of a few weeks, you should be able to attain the right balance of work and rest for your particular brain and the goals you want to achieve.

Give it a try this week and let me know if this helps!

At the very least, I hope it takes some of the pressure off!