The 42% Rule for Burnout

Domain: Self Awareness - Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Somebody, at least one person, on your team is burnt out. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's the entire team.

I doubt this is news to anyone. The amount of information, decisions and requests coming at us seems to be steadily increasing.

Many people respond by trying to push-through. But that approach is flawed for a number of reasons. The most obvious issue is that the increased demands for our attention are not going to slow-down any time soon. Pushing through is not sustainable.

True high performance stands the test of time. That means you need to utilize strategies to combat stress and burnout.

Enter the 42% rule. The 42% rule is a research-backed concept that says about 42% of our time (approx. 10 hours) should be dedicated to rest, recovery and downtime in order to prevent burnout.

It turns out that the key to consistent high performance is in fact, deliberate rest. This is not a luxury. It's part of your performance strategy.

Consistency

The 42% rule is a preventative strategy. That means the intentional downtime needs to be realized on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. This is not something you do for a couple days after you realize you're burnt out. By then, it's too late.

The reason that so many of us find ourselves burnt-out is that we don't deliberately protect our time. If burnout is an issue for you, it's worth scheduling this downtime to ensure you take advantage of it. Otherwise, other people's priorities will take your free time and you'll be right back where you started.

The easiest way to do this is to find recurring times on your calendar that you schedule and protect. Maybe it's a walk at the same time each morning or time on a specific hobby one day each week.

Sleep as foundation

The good news is that sleep counts towards your downtime. The bad news is that one in three adults (at least in the US) don't get enough sleep.

Sleep is worth calling-out as its own category because 1. it should make-up a majority of your downtime and 2. too many of us are not getting enough of it.

Some of you will claim not to need the recommended 7 hours of sleep. You may think you've grown accustomed to operating with less. You hear this a lot from high performers. It turns out the some people can naturally function with little sleep; however, it's less than 1% of the population. The rest of us are either getting enough sleep or lying to ourselves about it.

There is extensive guidance from experts for strong sleep hygiene but a good starting point is maintaining a consistent sleep schedule.

Non-sleep downtime

Outside of sleep, there are a number of other activities you can use to intentionally create meaningful downtime.

Gentle exercise such as walking or stretching is a great option. The goal with physical activity as downtime is to use movement to release tension without adding additional stress. Even if you love wind-sprints, they are probably not ideal for this purpose.

Other activities might include relaxing hobbies, mindfulness practices, meditation, talking to friends and loved ones or even just sitting down and zoning out.

However you decide to fill the time, be mindful of your screen time. Many people use screen time as a way to relax but it also comes with its own stressors. I can't tell you what's right for you, but the cognitive cost is worth examining honestly.

Thank you for reading. My hope is always that you've found something helpful and easy to implement. If you have feedback, suggestions or questions, please reply to this email.

If you are interested in exploring one-on-one coaching to transform your leadership, email me at [email protected] and we’ll coordinate a free, one-hour discovery session.

This week’s action items:

1. Incorporate planned downtime into your schedule as much as possible. Start this week.

2. Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Consistent sleep schedules will go a long way here.

3. Identify a few activities that you can begin doing to fill the remainder of your downtime. Schedule them on your calendar if needed in order to prioritize the time.