All over the country, runners who spend months stacking miles are crossing the finish line. At least for a few weeks, they're putting their racing shoes in the closet. They’re choosing something most busy professionals forget to do: resting on purpose.
Any good coach will tell you that the off-season is part of your training plan. After a long build-up to a hard race, your body needs a stretch of reduced load to repair muscles and replenish energy. You’re not doing nothing, and calculated rest makes you a better athlete and (I’d argue) a better professional, no matter what industry you’re in.
What If The Race Has No Finish Line?
Admittedly, it’s harder to have an off-season when there’s no clear beginning or end. No finish line that doesn’t immediately seem to turn into another race. The end of the year isn’t it, because Q4 rolls into annual planning, and that rolls right into first-quarter targets.
Where’s your recovery period?
Sure, you might take a vacation. But a week away without checking your email feels more like a few easy days than a true off-season.
An athlete who trained like that would plateau within a year, and I’m convinced leaders are the same way.
How People Recover From Work
The discussion around work and rest has swung back and forth. We’re still not free of the “grind” mentality that drives many promising minds into early burnout. Rest and balance have become more central to the conversation. But from what I’ve seen, there’s usually not much nuance involved.
Sabine Sonnentag, an organizational psychologist at the University of Mannheim, has spent much of her career studying how people recover from work. Her research with Charlotte Fritz identified four experiences that drive recovery: psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control.
For me, detachment stands out. It means mentally switching “off” from work when you’re away. People who manage detachment consistently report less exhaustion and better overall well-being. Research also suggests that people who recover well during their off hours return to work more engaged and proactive.
As an athlete, I’m immediately drawn to that point, because recovery is part of performance. The same is true of anyone leading a team or building a business.
4 Ways to Bring an Off-Season Into Your Year
I’ll reiterate here: your “off-season” is not a sabbatical. I’m not talking about a total break from work. We all need to go in with a sense of purpose and structure in these intentional “lighter” seasons.
Here are four principles I’d borrow from endurance athletes to carve out an effective off-season:
Schedule it before you need it. Your off-season goes on the calendar the same day as the race. Look at your year and find the natural low point for your business. Block it off now, before client requests and seasonal events fill it up for you.
Lower the load and keep moving. How can leaders aim for shorter, easier efforts during their off-season? That might mean pausing new initiatives, trimming recurring meetings, or letting your team take the reins more often. You’re still connected and working, but not bearing the full weight of it all on your own.
Protect detachment. Decide ahead of time what will wait until you’re back. Tell your team who handles what, and turn off the notifications that reel you back in. If checking email once a day is your compromise, set a timer and keep it short.
Try something new. This is the “mastery” Sonnentag referred to. Part of recovery comes from building a skill unrelated to your work. For runners, that might mean trying a different sport in the off-season. For you, it could be picking up an instrument, making a new, challenging recipe, or figuring out how to repair something. Just the chance to stretch your brain on something that demands a new kind of effort.
Coming Back Stronger
I have five kids. Plus running, plus work. I know how quickly a calendar fills up, especially this time of year. That’s why I have to plan an off-season for myself. Hoping won’t make it happen. And I’ve learned that I need that season to be the best runner, partner, dad, and professional I can be.
So…where’s your off-season? Share how you’ve been building true recovery into your demanding career. Someone reading might need the insights you have to give.