Ep 728 | How to Fire the Engines Back Up After a Layoff

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. I think that there's this strange place where, where people like you and like me, where we might land after we've taken some time off. For example, like we've just experienced, holidays end, the calendar turns, the calendar flips, work, while it shouldn't have stopped, work really starts to resume, or at least resume at the level we may have been participating in prior to the holidays. However, instead of feeling energized, I think a lot of us feel flat. We feel a little bit unmotivated or even slow or lethargic. I would say that we're not burned out and we're certainly not lazy. I think the reality is we just get out of rhythm. And I think that moment is, is a really dangerous one, not because it's permanent, but because I think it's really easy for us to misdiagnose it. We think that maybe we need some motivation, or we think that maybe we're lacking inspiration. Maybe sometimes we're thinking something is, is truly wrong, but nothing is actually wrong. We're just restarting. We're just firing the engines back up. And restarting requires discipline. It doesn't require emotion. So, so the real problem here is that after a layoff like holidays or even vacation or just some downtime, most people make the same mistake, and that's that they feel ready before they act. And that's actually backwards when you think about it. And I dug kind of deep in my research on this because truth be told, coming back from the holidays, I felt a little off. I felt a little off and I realized I was just out of rhythm. So the mistake, the problem is that we feel ready before we act. And that's backwards. This is where I think 3 different people that I dug into, at least the way they think, I think that's where they might have a different opinion. Tim Grover, who was the former trainer of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, is a guy that's ruthless about standards. He believes that elite performers don't wait for motivation. They act because it's just who they are. I think Ryan Holiday, another guy I kind of looked into around this particular challenge, Ryan Holiday, who many of you know, is this kind of modern Stoic. What he teaches is that emotion clouds judgment. And that progress comes from returning calmly to what's in your control. And then Jim Rohn, who's one of the most influential personal development teachers of, of all time. What Jim taught was that success is the result of daily discipline practiced long before results show up. So all three would say the same thing in different ways. Momentum doesn't return because you want it back. It returns because you reinstall structure. So step 1 would be to remove emotion from the equation. The fastest way to stall momentum is to ask, how do I feel today? But the reality is feelings are unreliable, especially after we've taken a longer break where we've taken a rest. The better question would be, what needs to be done today? Now, Ryan Holiday would call this returning to the task at hand. There's not story there, there's not drama there, there's no self-analysis. It's just execution, it's just about execution. So you don't need to feel sharp to do sharp work. You don't need energy to take the first step. You just need obedience. To the process. You just gotta be married to the process because that clarity will beat motivation every single time. So the question to ask if you wanna remove emotion from the equation is a simple one. What needs to be done today? If that's step 1, step 2 is to reestablish your non-negotiables. Jim Rohn used to say that discipline is choosing between What you want now and what you want most. See, after time off, our non-negotiables tend to drift. Start times slide a little bit. Focus becomes a little scattered. Your days lose their edges. Whereas you may have been on point before, you're not right now. Now, you don't fix that sort of thing by adding more goals. You actually fix it by reinstating some simple rules. The same wake-up time, the same work start, the same wind-down or shutdown. Momentum returns when your day stops negotiating with itself. So, reestablish your non-negotiables is what I'd say is step 2. Step 3, and I find this one to be pretty interesting and it's going to sound a little counterintuitive to what we talk about here at No Days Off, but step 3 is lower the bar. But don't lower the standard. What do I mean when I say that? I think this is where people get it wrong. You don't need peak output right now at this very second, but you do need standards. You need professional standards. Tim Grover is probably the best at this. He is very clear on this. Standards don't change because you're tired or you're distracted or you're out of rhythm. So instead, lower the volume or lower the scope and just do work clean is what he would say. So what does that mean? That means do one focused task, complete one priority, have one disciplined day, and from that you gain confidence. Confidence doesn't come from hype. It comes from this execution, specifically execution that you can trust. So the idea here is don't lower the standard, but lower the bar And then do clean, you know, do clean work. Accomplish one thing and build on that. Execute and build on that. Step 4, stop trying to catch up. Stop trying to make up for lost time. I think that's how people tend to break themselves. They start to overschedule for this lost time or they rush decisions because of perceived lost time. Ryan Holiday would say this is letting time pressure steal clarity. The truth is that when you take some time off, there is no catching up. You're not gonna get caught up. There is only starting where you are right now and then moving forward correctly. Momentum really hates panic. Momentum responds to patience and it responds to precision. So stop trying to catch up and just accept the fact that we have to start where we are right now and then move forward correctly. Now, step 5, reconnect to identity, not mood. Stop asking yourself, do I feel motivated? Start asking yourself, what does someone who takes their work seriously do today? See, when I say, do I feel motivated? That is clearly a conversation around my mood, my energy. So I need to stop asking that. But if I start asking, hey, what does someone who takes their work seriously do today? That is an identity question. Jim Rohn believed that we don't get paid for our intentions. We get paid for our disciplines. So, I think that identity is really the bridge back to momentum. Not inspiration or not some quote that gives us energy or not turning on the music real loud to hype ourselves up. Just behavior that, that matches who you say you are. Step 6, be a little patient here, let days stack again. Because momentum doesn't come roaring back. It's going to return quietly. One solid day, then another solid day, then a week that feels normal again. So don't rush that process. Respect that there's going to be a process here. I think the people who, who restart well, they don't, they don't announce it. They just, they just get back to work and allow those days to stack. So 6 steps, I'll run through them again real quick. Remove emotion from the equation. Number 2, reestablish non-negotiables. Number 3, lower the bar but don't lower the standard. Number 4, stop trying to catch up. Number 5, reconnect to identity, not mood. And then number 6, let days stack again. Now I have 2 simple action items for you to, to leave today's podcast with. Action number 1, I want you to choose one non-negotiable daily behavior for the next 7 days. One non-negotiable daily behavior for the next 7 days. The same time, the same action, no debate, just get it done. Action number 2, I want you to define what a good day looks like this week. And define this good day by something that's behavior-based, not necessarily outcome-based. So finish the task or honor the schedule or shut the laptop when you said you would. That, that, that's enough. So define what a good day looks like this week and make sure it's effort-based or behavior-based. In conclusion, I think my take on this, if you haven't figured it out already, is you don't need to fire yourself back up. You actually need to calm yourself down and start to become a little bit more precise. Momentum is not going to come from emotion. It's going to come from structure and standards and consistency. So get back to the basics, reinstall the basics, trust the process, and then let your discipline carry you back into rhythm. This is what I have been deploying as of late, and I think after a handful of days, I am back in a groove. I was worried that I was out of that groove for a little too long, but I am back and I am feeling strong and I'm ready to tackle what's in front of me. I think that's how you get your engines back online. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.