Free Days

It was Dan Sullivan, the entrepreneurial coach, who told me about this concept of dividing your time into Focus Days, Buffer Days and Free Days.

Focus Days are when your nose is to the grindstone and you’re totally focussed on delivering your work accountabilities.

Buffer Days are looser. You may be winding down from one project and preparing for the next, doing some reflection or research, maybe some routine housekeeping.

Free Days are when, for 24 hours, work doesn’t exist. You zap even the stealthiest work thought and your laptop is packed away in its case under the bed.

And you are free to be a partner, a parent, a gardener, a potter-abouter, a tennis player, a hiker, a TV-addict, a sport fan, a lazy slob.

Warning: even the tiniest peak at your emails and – bang! – it’s not a Free Day anymore. It’s a Buffer Day.

I think we burn out when we don’t have enough Free Days. When I first heard this I realised I’d not had a single Free Day for years.

I’m much better now.

Now, how do you get more Free Days?