Day 297: Recovery

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This time of year, law students are starting final exams, and professors are gearing up for end-of-year evaluations. Writing deadlines hit, courts are in full gear.

For those of us in law schools, we’ve spent nine months pushing hard toward our goals.

Spring is in the air — but we may be too exhausted to notice.

Recovery as an Ingredient of Impossible

In The Art of Impossible, Steven Kotler examines a little-discussed habit that everyone pursuing peak performance needs to get serious about:

Recovery.

“It’s hard for peak performers to relax,” Kotler writes. “If momentum matters most, sitting still feels like laziness. And the more aligned with passion and purpose we become, the more ‘wasteful’ time off starts to feel.”

Sound familiar?

In sports, recovery is in. Elite athletes talk about their sleep schedules, infrared saunas, and foam rollers almost as much as they talk about their workouts. Some even count their recovery routines as the keys to their success.

For people pursuing peak performance outside of sports, recovery seems almost unknown.

Schedule days off? Walk in nature? Meditate?

I don’t have time!!!!

Getting Gritty About Recovery

Kotler challenges that mindset. Anyone pursuing peak performance, he says, needs recovery.

In fact, recovery is so important for achieving “high, hard goals” that researchers consider it an element of that magic success quality, grit.

That’s right, grit equals perseverence, willpower, mindfulness, passion … and recovery.

Not just any down time. A burger and a beer in front of the TV may feel like a break, but they’ll actually keep your brain waves in beta frequency, the alert state.

Instead, you need things that ease your brain waves into alpha (relaxed), then theta (meditative) and delta (deep sleep).

You may be tempted to skip recovery. Don’t.

“[S]ince burnout leads to significant decline in cognitive function — making it one of the most common enemies of sustained peak performance — you absolutely have to get gritty about recovery,” Kotler writes.

Peak Recovery Methods

If binging on Stranger Things doesn’t work, what does?

Deep sleep. Active recovery (like body work, restorative yoga, Tai Chi, nature walks). Hot tubs and saunas. And total breaks occasionally, as needed.

If you’re pursuing peak performance in anything, get out in front on recovery. Experiment with the strategies above until you find what works best for you. (Scientifically speaking, the TV isn’t it.)

Then put it on the calendar. Honor that commitment. Add more if necessary.

How do you know if it’s working?

The telltale signs of burnout — exhaustion, depression, cynicism — clear up on their own. Pursuing your goals feels lighter, easier.