Winter Decompression

Winter Decompression Used For Planning and Progrees. Rest But Don’t Sleep 

By Kyle Ascione, Integrity Earth and Asphalt

So, this is mainly for those in the seasonal side of the business and hopefully all those thoughts and ideas you've had during the adrenaline and stress packed summer of growing and maintaining your business has been stored somewhere that you’ll remember. You know what im talking about… the “yah we need to do that” ideas and thoughts. Also similar sounding to “we need to do that at some point”. Well, now is the time. Its actually the perfect time. 

This can be the best or the most dreadful time of year, but lets talk about some ways to make it the most profitable and productive. First off, were not going to start by taking a back seat and loosing all the discipline we grew throughout the summer, were just going to tailor it to a different season of our yearly cycle. Structure yourself so that you are getting the most out of your time to include things OTHER than work also. Your health (mental and physical), your hobbies, your families, your community, and your actual business, outside of the work you do. 

The best way to accomplish these things is to put yourself on a schedule, and as weird as that may seem if you're not already used to it, you wont want to have it any other way once you realize what you can actually gain from it. Once you get your time organized and boundaries have been set when you are and are not going to focus on certain things, begin to fill those spaces with what you are going to be working on first, second, third, so on and so forth… answer the “what, why, how, and who” Questions. 

What am i trying to improve.

Why am I trying to improve it

How am i going to execute and accomplish that

Who do i need to become (or who do i need to hire) in order to make that happen. 

Make sure you are in an environment that allows you to focus on this for the dedicated amount of time and don't start another project until you finish the one you're on, or at least don't bounce from one project to another outside the time slots you've allotted for yourself. Now, here’s the awesome part, when youre done… then stop and move on to the next thing. 

Since we’re talking about the asphalt industry and we all know it takes a lot out of us during our “on” season, take advantage of the time to invest into things away from the business. Prioritize other things in the same way you would prioritize working on systems and processes like we talked about in the previous paragraph. We’re humans, Not machines and i truly feel that as high performing people, we sometimes need the reminder that we need investment in other areas of life to allow ourselves to actually fully recharge and to actually allow our mind to expand. The best moves and decisions do not come from a mind under pressure, but a mind that is relieved to think and operate freely. This is done by allowing other elements to come in to our daily cycle. 

The last thing I want to talk about that is critically important and the perfect time to start or maintain improvements on is your physical health. Listen, don't worry about the holidays when it comes to improving physical health. Enjoy them stress free.  You can do that AND start to entertain a local gym that you enjoy, or martial arts class that will equally challenge you with a little more engagement and accountability, start on a book that grabs your attention or audio book that captures your mind while you invest in other hobbies. Take the time to regularly connect with friends and invest into those relationships and new ones while you have the opportunity. Get good sleep while you can. Personal health does not have to be a miserable series of tasks that we try to call “discipline”. Personal health is finding improvements that positively effect your body and your being and continually moving in that direction at a healthy and consistent pace. 

If you put 1% effort in to any or all of these categories each day throughout the summer, I can guarantee you that you will thank yourself and be completely confident and prepared for next season in addition to feeling completely satisfied, content, and fulfilled with the last.