When I was 19, I got a crash course in double clutching when I got thrown in the ten-wheel truck during forage harvesting. We were in the middle of tourist season in Gettysburg, and I found myself constantly struggling to keep from stalling out in between low and high gear. I will never forget how it felt to suddenly be sitting still in the middle of the highway with drivers all around me blowing their horns just because I couldn’t get it to shift smoothly into high gear.
Recently I heard Dr. James Hewitt, a human behavior scientist and author, speak about the concept of regenerative performance. In his presentation, Dr. Hewitt shared how 73 percent of people in today’s workforce feel some level of disengagement, while 50 percent are showing signs of burnout. He spoke about how these statistics are symptoms of a greater problem – simply that many of us are spending most of our time in middle gear.
Dr. Hewitt shared how we need to approach our work more like a performance athlete would approach their training process. Our minds, like our bodies, function in high, middle, and low gear. In high gear, we can focus on impactful, priority-driven work. In middle gear, we are spending our time mindlessly switching back and forth between tasks and responsibilities. In low gear, we are resting and recovering. To be successful, performance athletes balance intense, focused training with rest and recovery.
Now consider where we are spending our time while working. On the farm, we wear multiple hats. We manage employees, handle herd work, feed the cows, take care of our kids, manage the finances, and just keep moving from task to task all day long. Some of us are even balancing those tasks with off-farm jobs, too. Meanwhile, we are bombarded by text messages, phone calls, sales visits, and emails that constantly interrupt our work. By the end of the day, we find ourselves without any time to breathe, let alone focus. Essentially, our minds are stuck in middle gear.
Time for a Realignment
Dr. Hewitt’s premise is that, if we intentionally retrain our brains to shift away from this constant state of middle gear, it could lead to higher performance and less stress long term. He encouraged listeners to realign how they work to spend more time in high and low gear and less time stuck in the middle.
According to Hewitt, everyone has a natural tendency to a time of day when they work best. For some, it is early in the morning. For others, they might gravitate toward being at peak performance later in the evening. But, for each person, it’s important to consider what time of day is naturally your sweet spot and dedicate that time to high priority, focused tasks.
It’s a little harder to do on a dairy farm than it would in an office setting. But consider those tasks that require you to concentrate and be fully focused. When are you doing them? If you are a morning person, consider rearranging your schedule so you can have concentrated time to do them in the morning. If you’re an evening person, perhaps dedicating time to those tasks in the evening works better for you.
Hewitt also recommends “starving the distractions” when you want to focus. Put away your phone, turn off your email, shut the door, and even let those who you work with know you are taking time to concentrate. Communicate to outside consultants that you are not available during those hours. While you cannot always control unexpected distractions like a calving, a down cow, or an equipment breakdown, you can set boundaries to allow your mind to focus. And, when you can maintain focus, you can work about 33 percent faster.
Recovery Essential to Peak Performance
Along with intentionally finding time to focus and setting boundaries to limit outside distractions, Hewitt shared how important it is to find time to rest. I think this is one we often overlook and almost avoid as farmers. We pride ourselves on being busy – “if the sun’s up, we need to be working” – and we forget how important downtime is to our ability to recover.
Getting a good night’s sleep is Hewitt’s first recommendation to ensure we are spending enough time in low gear. About 45 percent of all employees are sleep deprived, and not sleeping enough can elevate stress and lower performance. In fact, he said that being awake for 18 hours straight can reduce your cognitive ability to the equivalent of being drunk. He recommended prioritizing at least 7 – 8 hours of sleep a night and making sure that you are getting the most from those hours.
If you are like me and have trouble turning your mind off at night, he recommended you make sure the room is dark and quiet, avoid caffeine after midday, and even consider writing things down just before bed. Paper shrinks fear, so putting those thoughts down on paper may help those stressors that keep you up at night escape your mind, allowing you to fall asleep faster.
Another recommendation he suggested is to build in small breaks during your day. Taking time for lunch, having 15 minutes of quiet in the break room, enjoying a conversation over coffee with your spouse, or maybe being alone during the evening milking in the barn is what you need to relax and allow your mind to rest. Whatever that is, it’s important you intentionally find time for it in your day. Finding that rest time, according to Hewitt, can improve cognitive performance by 26 percent and decrease overall stress.
Dr. Hewitt’s presentation made me think of the many conversations I have had with others on the dairy, especially women, who struggle not to feel overwhelmed when balancing all their responsibilities on the farm. For me, it can feel like being stuck in the middle of that highway, unable to get out of my own way. While his suggestions weren’t all easy to implement, he did offer good perspective on how we could be more intentional about realigning our schedules and retraining our minds to get out of middle gear.