Hi Reader,

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Wekcome to Rev Up for the Week, where every week since sometime in early 2020, I've been showing up in your inboxes at 4.05pm on a Sunday, with something positive or productive to kick-start your Monday. A special shout out to you if you've been here since the beginning.

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It becomes a bit of a badge of honour, when you've done something so consistently and for more than half a decade.

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The consistency is important. It keeps me in the habit of telling you all about my work (and if you've been here a while you'll know I've never found marketing easy), and even more importantly, as a writer, it keeps me writing. I've never batched them up, and I don't 'write' using AI. The cadence of the weekly deadline has, I think, made me a better writer. It's hard to notice small gradual improvements, but if I open a random page in one of my older books and then open a random page in the last couple of books, I can easily see how much my writing has evolved and improved.

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Concisistency matters in all its forms - consistency of learning, consistency of service delivery, a consistent customer experience or just consistently showing up to the page to write, week after week.

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So then what happens when you need to take a break?

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Usually through the summer holidays, I've kept up this practice, but this year I'm doing something different. I really need a proper summer break - one where I can switch off for the whole week, without having to dip back in to write an email, in the car park of a campsite, or sitting on the beach. So, after this week, the next few Rev Ups through to the end of August won't be things I've written that week. It'll be some repeat-outings for a few bits of writing that resonated well the first time around.

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Switching off is an issue we all deal with one way or another. How will customer experience, consistency of quality, or consistent delivery continue when we are not there?

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In teams, this is where good leadership and management come in - processes, systems, and routines to keep the show on the road. But what about the stuff where it feels too personal for that - where it's really up to us to drive that consistency?

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Well, one thing I know is this. The consequences of switching off always seem much more urgent and real and unfathomable than the benefits.

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The benefits of switching off are huge - it allows us to come back refreshed (and without it, we'd burn out).

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But that 'lizard brain' part of us doesn't care about the logical benefits of switching off, it just cares about the catastrophe it's creating as it tries to stop us from stepping away. "who'll take care of that?", "can we trust that stuff will happen?", "won't it be crap without us?" and so on.

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But think about it. Whenever we do switch off - whenever we allow ourselves to take space and rest - the benefits are much bigger and more real than those perceived risks. It turns out most things will sort themselves out while we are away, especially if we make a effort to plan it that way.

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And as I've often said, I write these emails for me as much as I write them for you...

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So over the next few weeks, let's keep our eye on the prize together. The tangible benefits of rest and switching off are far greater than the perceived risks. All we need is to give ourselves this reminder, and be brave enough to make it happen.

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Switching off can often feel tricky. It can feel particularly hard of we have been in the habit of consistent delivery for a long time.

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But there's good stuff on the other side of it. So, trust it. Step away confidently, and know that there's all kinds of life and energy on the other side of the break.

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In the meantime, I'll be in your inbox as consistently as ever each Sunday at 4.05pm, thanks to my brilliant assistant Emilie scheduling a few "greatest hits". And I'll be back firing new ideas your way from September.

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I hope it's sunny where you are. Have a great week,

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Graham

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