The Importance of Rest

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

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Topics: Career Development, Leadership, Resource Management, Talent Management

Rest should never be underestimated, especially when everyone is screaming for everything to be done yesterday. There is a time to work and a time to rest, and neither should be dominating the other. While people need to work (and you need them to work in order to execute on the project plan), you also need them to rest so that they can be effective workers in the long run.

Working everyone down to the wire will not help your project and could endanger it by driving people away or stressing them to a breaking point. Keep a close eye on the team to determine when a rest or a break is needed.

Is Your Cup Running Over?
How do you determine if you need a rest or a break? You need to figure out if your cup is running over. If your list of things to do is longer at the end of the day than the beginning of the day, then your cup is running over. If you spend all your time fighting fires instead of working on the normal daily tasks of the project, then your cup is running over. If you cannot hear yourself think because everyone is yelling at you to finish something—or if no one else is working because they are all waiting on you—then your cup is definitely running over. Step back and think about it before you keep overworking yourself or your team.

The Danger of Over-Scheduling
When you look at your schedule, you probably see a beautifully orchestrated plan that …

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