Reposted from Tim Richardson

I found an extra day this week. I had traveled to the Midwest to give a presentation. Normally, I try to get home relatively quickly after my work is done. I technically could have made it back the day of my presentation, but it would have been rushed as it would have been midnight when I arrived home, so I took an “extra day”. The extra day gave me time to spend time individually with audience members who heard me speak. My extra day allowed me time to evaluate my presentation and get immediate feedback from my client. The extra day gave me the opportunity to see audience members in action implementing what they learned and reinforcing my important message. But that’s not all. My extra day gave me time to have a nice and relaxing dinner and a long walk afterward. I was able to think through my time there, the good and the bad. I had several moments of pausing to be quiet and still, thinking about my recent birthday and what the next year will bring. As I watched nightfall unfold, listening to its sounds and capturing the beauty of the changing skyline I thought about my grandparents’ front porch. There, my grandparents practiced extra day living every day. They were purposeful in fully embracing moments hurried people would miss.

During my extra day, I didn’t work on a chapter of my next book. I didn’t work on an upcoming speech. I didn’t work on a pending proposal. I didn’t get lost in my email. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t productive. I would guess that most professionals resist regular extra days because of the demands of their career. They equate busyness with productivity. Stop doing that. Focus on the work that matters, do it quickly, and then give yourself margin to be creative, introspective, and grateful. Following that course will show you the obvious value of finding extra days in your schedule.

Find an extra day.

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