You Cannot Be At 100% All The Time

I’m guilty of trying to be at 100% and be at my best all the time. It is an easy trap to get into with everyone showing their best sides on social media, multitasking, etc.

The trap is, if we are at our best all the time, then our best becomes our normal. If we are at 100% effort all the time, we will eventually explode.

Being at your best every hour of every day is draining. I can vouch for this after chasing excellence and trying to be my best for years. Filling my time with classes to learn new skills, books, practicing new skills, on top of trying to be a high performer at work, taking care of daily chores, etc.

It is exhausting. I’ve noticed I tend to have a few months of near-high performance before exploding and requiring a few months to recover.

Instead, we are better off working at a long-term sustainable effort and performance levels. This gives us more time to focus on what is important for a period and gives us time to focus on relationships around us instead of driving for excellence.

Instead of trying to do everything all the time, stealing the idea of periodization from my wannabe cycling coach days might help: break things down into mesocycles, 3 to 6-week cycles, focusing on one area. This lets us focus on getting better, gives room for lives, and provides plenty of physical and mental rest time.

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