Get Spain Brain

I have an idea for you for the last week of summer: Get Spain brain.

What’s that, you ask? It’s the productivity lesson brand strategist Pia Silva and her husband learned on vacation and decided to bring home with them.

Meet Pia Silva

Here’s how Pia described their time in Europe:

Each day, we woke up when we wanted, had a leisurely breakfast, spent four or five hours at a beach, did some reading, then had a relaxing lunch before heading back to our hotel room-usually between 4PM and 6PM to start working for the day (the advantage of being at least 6 hours ahead of the United States). After a few hours of work, we’d head for dinner. (It didn’t hurt that it’s still light out at 10PM during the summer in Spain and Italy.)

It was all very seamless. And surprisingly, after having spent a whole day relaxing and doing whatever we wanted, it became easier to sit down and work in the late afternoons. Despite appearances, we actually got a lot done. More, in fact, than usual. It really drove the point home for us that we fill the time we have. (It is called Parkinson’s Law if you want to read more about it.)

Pia had a breakthrough insight about her work habits after two months abroad: “My 8-hour days were really just 5-hour days dragged out over 8 hours.”

In the August series, Create an Oasis, we’ve talked about ways to renew ourselves so we’re ready to hit the ground running in the fall. Self-care is much more than slacking off. It’s about adopting new ways of looking at old things. That’s what Pia and her husband did when they shifted their schedule.

Here’s what we’ve learned:

• In “Trust Your Inner Authority,” Saira Siddiqui discovered that she needed to rethink well-meaning but impractical advice from friends and family. She found the best learning style for her children by trusting her intuition.
• In “Stay in Yes Mode,” we saw how you can’t heal and nurse old hurts and fears at the same time. Healing happens by saying yes to stretching past the tried and true, even if that requires some effort and short-term discomfort.
• In “The Long Conversation,” the Dillys taught us how to break from discrete choices and see relationships as a single, long conversation. They raised their sextuplets using skills like deep listening, erring on the side of respect, and humor.

Renewing Yourself Isn’t Just for Vacation

If you only take one concept with you as we begin a new season, take the belief that renewing yourself isn’t a vacation idea—it should happen week in and week out. You know what happens to little kids when they’re pushed with too many activities—they have a meltdown. Guess what? You’re still wired that way. Understanding when you’ve hit your limit isn’t only meant for others. It is a way to stay a good boss of you by using the Soul Boss principle of practicing compassion.

Are you ready for knock-out productivity and endless creative ideas? Do the unthinkable: Rest.