RESETS are set-aside times and “spaces” for getting “breaths of fresh air” … turns of the kaleidoscope … moments for restoration / re-energizing / revisioning … letting some sunshine in …
When I was still in the organized workforce (I’m now retired and a lot LESS organized!), I did a lot of writing and editing of grants. But there were more than a few times I would get “writer’s block” – just hitting an inextricable impasse holding up the proceedings. So, I would put everything on momentary hold and hike up and down four flights of stairs outside my office to “clear the cobwebs”. Wonder of wonders (!), before I got halfway back to my office, the cobwebs would dissipate and I would be back on track!
At age 83, it still works! (Two “RESETS” so far on this document, and unnumberable more to come!)
Sometimes my “RESETS” look a lot like “NAPS”. But a 15 minute “NAP” is usually enough to get proceedings back on track.
If you think about it … batteries need recharging. My Smart phone has to be charged 2-3 times a day. Top athletes can sustain an all-out effort for only short durations before “recharging”. My car has to stop at a gas station every 400 miles. Our house needs cleaned at least once a month. And News Anchors cheat … they have to be fed text for their reporting to keep the broadcasts going (and they also get ever-increasing numbers of commercial breaks!) Sports teams have TIME-OUTS and HALF-TIME breaks for necessary RESETS.
“We made adjustments at halftime.”
Come-From-Behind Football Quarterback
RESETS make necessary ADJUSTMENTS possible.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Leonardo Da Vinci is reported to have “made time for his scientific and artistic endeavors by napping for 15 minutes every four hours, limiting his actual sleep time to 1 ½ hours a day.”
Studies of solo ocean racers found that most take short naps throughout the day, averaging about 5 hours of sleep.
Actual lab studies guided a 27-year-old male graphic artist volunteer through a cycle of six 15-minute naps a day for 9 days. “Although he occasionally overslept, he averaged 2.7 hours of sleep a day. [And] Data from tests of memory, logical reasoning and simple mathematical calculations suggested that overall performance was not significantly reduced.” SCIENCE 249, 20 July, 1990, p. 244
Whatever you do, don’t short yourself on RESETS! Quartermaster
