Entrepreneur Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Use your LifeLine!
We’re in that week between Chrismahanukwaanzika and New Year’s, but it’s no time to let your productivity drain away!
(Aren’t you glad I’m not one of those so-called productivity gurus who tells you to get up at oh-dark-thirty so you can grind away for 14 hours? Because you know I’m not going to do that to you. Some people can’t function that early in the morning, so for them to get up at that time is a waste of time. And being “busy” for 14 hours, especially when you’re sleep-deprived, isn’t going to help you accomplish anything.)
I’ve been writing and reading about what I like to call unproductive productivity, which are all the things you do outside work that have nothing to do with work but reset your brain as well as the rest of you so you can be productive at work. If you haven’t been practicing those things, this week is an excellent time. No need to wait until the new year to work smarter and get more done.
What are those things? Sleep, exercise, good food, rest, hobbies, playtime, family, and, in honor of Call a Friend day on the 28th, talking to friends.
Remember that show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? One of the lifelines, if you were stuck, was to call a friend (probably one with an impressive grasp of trivia.)
Why friends are a lifeline
A couple of weeks ago I talked about how you have to be brave to be productive because modern society is set up to work against the human brain. (Whether this is intentional or not, I couldn’t tell you.)
But another toxic myth is the one we Americans have about freedom meaning that you do everything yourself. The lone cowboy idea is a) false and b) not going to serve you even if it were true.
The reason that you are here, reading this on the computer that humans designed, using cables that humans invented, with electricity that human beings have harnessed, is because our remote ancestors banded together in small tribes or villages early in human development and worked together to survive. There were no bootstraps back then because loners would have been food for predators. And because being social is a survival mechanism, it’s deeply embedded in us (even in introverts.)
Human beings have a need for socializing, but people may spend more or less time doing it. When you make time for family and friends, you’re satisfying a basic human need.
Even if you’re married, it’s a good idea to have friends beyond the people you're related to. For those of us with difficult families of origin, we tend to make our friends our families too. But not everyone needs to do this.
The nuclear family of two parents and child(ren) is actually a relatively new invention, beginning in the 1920s. In the US it became popular during the post-war period when the GI Bill helped veterans buy their own homes and Levittowns were a thing.
For most of human history, we lived with more people in our homes, with three or possibly more generations. In other words, the human brain is wired to socialize with more than one or two other people. Plus, should something happen to your spouse, you’ll have other people to lean on.
Why friends are helpful for business owners
While we’re on the subject of brain development, we also didn’t spend hundreds of thousands of years as a species working. We hunted and gathered and played and slept for most of it. Work is a recent invention, so human brains aren’t optimized for 8 hours a day 5 days a week. Brains also do a lot of work in the background that we’re not consciously aware of, so taking a rest from work helps them run better.
Socializing + non-work = a happy brain. And if it’s good for your brain, it’s good for productivity. (I’ve only mentioned this a couple million times.)
So take some time this week to talk to a friend. In-person is great, but if not, calling is good too. (Leaving comments on social media doesn’t count, not even a little bit.) Give your brain a break, so it can get back to work with renewed focus and vigor.
Recap:
Human brains developed by socializing, and if our early ancestors had tried to go it alone we wouldn’t even be here. Friends are good for you and your brain, so reach out this week. Even if you’re taking the week off, you’re still fueling your productivity.