When Carson Tate tells clients to follow their bliss, she’s not invoking some new-age hooey. Instead, the managing partner of Working Simply believes that BLISS–behavioral learning and integration support systems–can help improve corporate agility, employee engagement, productivity and effectiveness. And who doesn’t want to work smarter, not harder?
One facet to increasing productivity, she says, is taking time off–real time off, not a vacation spent with one thumb on the iPhone at all times.
“In the workplace, I think we are just assaulted by information, commitments, timelines, deadlines and what happens is our thinking is scattered and disconnected,” she observes. “Think about when you have your eureka moments. Some of the best ideas come when you are in the shower with bubbles in your hair.” Vacations not only offer a respite from the daily grind but the downtime offers opportunities to allow new concepts and strategies to marinate. “When you come back you are rested, you able to innovate, your passion is back,” Tate says.
Even now, as more companies embrace the concept of “unlimited vacation,” engaged and productive workers are scarce, she says. Citing a Gallup Daily survey that found 71% of American workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged,” Tate says people are just burned out.
Here are some tips for making it happen.
Get Over Yourself, and Prioritize Time Off