The Six Week Sprint
Big changes require big efforts. Are you ready?
When I was a younger professional, the concept of avoiding burning out never occurred to me. I thought that I can just buckle down and work and eventually my workload will decrease. In hindsight, I was coming out of academia, and that lifestyle made a lot of sense for a student. When in school, there are exam periods, and break periods. The system itself creates periods of hustling and rest. After graduating, I didn’t know that I had to create that for myself.
Interestingly, as the years went by, my team learned how to predict my periods of burnout. I didn’t know about their hidden talent until I walked in on a staff meeting. Back then, I’d make myself a 90-day calendar with all sorts of travel plans, project completion dates, and dates for starting new projects. I’d give the team my calendar, so they can both plan around it and book up the days that looked open to me. Much to my chagrin, they were so good at forecasting my burnout phases that they’d even book their vacations based on predicting my level of exhaustion.
The day I learned that my burnout was predictable was eye opening. My team was on vacation while I was too exhausted to get out of bed! Something had to change. I wanted some vacation time too! That was the start of my obsession with finding the perfect amount of time to be highly efficient without burning out.
Back then, I would work seven days a week for ten weeks straight. This was the same length of time as the quarter system that I was accustomed to in school. Then, around the ten-week mark, I would burn out for at least two weeks. So, it would turn into a marathon of 12 terrible weeks. Be aware, on weekends I always get in a few hours of work.
Then it dawned on me.... What if I found a better use for those 12 weeks.
A new schedule needed to be created. Something exciting that wouldn’t wipe me out. Something that will change a monotonous marathon into a sexy sprint capable of catapulting my career. This plan really changed my life. It also caught on like wildfire. Sometimes, more than the usual needs to be done to see big changes.
I call the hyper focused, in-it-to-win-it schedule, the six-week sprint.
When you need to bring out the big guns and change your life…here’s how you do it. First, make a goal for yourself that feels out of reach. Make a goal that excites you and makes you smile. Then, dedicate the next six weeks to making it happen. Each of those weeks will have their own theme. For now, just shoot for an all-out effort for six weeks in a row.
The caveat – you can’t give up during the six weeks. Don’t half ass it either. Give it your absolute ALL. You owe it to yourself and your family to accomplish your goals and be successful. Dedicate 6 weeks to sprinting to a better you, a better career, a better future.
At the end of the six weeks, take a few days off to reflect and relax. You’ll be amazed by where you end up.