I was asked an interesting question during a recent keynote: how can we prioritise rest? The person asking was thinking about it in two contexts: her fitness performance plan and also the way she approaches work. My answer was simple. Rest needs to be considered in the same way as effort. Rest must be part of your performance plan.
In the gym, we think about sets, repetitions, load and progression. But the rest between those efforts is just as important. It is not separate from the training plan. It is part of the training plan.
The same is true at work.
If we want to perform well over time, rest and recovery cannot be treated as something we fit in only when everything else is done. They need to sit alongside focus, prioritisation, delegation and delivery as part of a wider performance strategy.
The paradox of performance
One of the paradoxes of high performance is that productivity and rest are not opposites. They are mutually inclusive.
We often behave as though the more we rest, the less productive we will be. In reality, sustained productivity depends on our ability to recover.
Without recovery, concentration drops. Decision-making becomes harder. Patience shortens. Creativity declines. Tasks take longer and mistakes become more likely.
We may still be working, but that does not necessarily mean we are performing well. You cannot sustain one without the other.
Think in cadence, not constant effort
This is at the heart of the Cadence Approach. High performance is not about operating at maximum intensity all the time. It is about creating a sustainable rhythm between effort and recovery.
The Cadence Approach invites us to think in four stages:
Predict. Prepare. Perform. Recover.
These stages help us move away from a reactive way of working, where we push until we are exhausted and only then think about rest. Instead, recovery becomes something we plan for.
Predict
The first step is to identify the moments that will require the most from you.
These are your workplace “Wimbledons”: the presentations, deadlines, launches, difficult conversations, periods of travel or high-pressure decisions that demand more energy, focus and emotional capacity.
When you can see these moments coming, you can begin to manage your energy around them.
Without that visibility, every day can feel equally urgent, and work becomes a constant drain rather than a cadence of effort and recovery.
Prepare
Once you know where the pressure points are, the next step is to prepare.
Preparation might mean protecting your diary, reducing unnecessary meetings, or shortening meetings to create space in between, delegating earlier, getting enough sleep or avoiding additional demands in the lead-up to an important event. It doesn’t have to be big changes; small changes, when done consistently over time, can have a big impact.
It also means considering what recovery will be needed afterwards.
We often plan for the moment of performance but not for the impact it will have on us. Yet preparation and recovery are what make sustainable high performance possible.
Perform
Performance is the period of focused effort. This is where we bring our energy, attention and capability to the task in front of us.
There will be times when we need to stretch, work harder or operate under pressure. The goal is not to avoid challenge. The goal is to make sure that effort is deliberate, proportionate and supported by what comes before and after it.
When everything is treated like a grand slam final, eventually something gives.
Recover
Recovery completes the cycle.
It might include time off, holidays or a period of recovery, but it must also include small, regular ‘slivers of recovery‘ during the days, weeks, and months between those bigger periods of recovery.
A walk between meetings. Lunch away from your screen. A few minutes to reset after a difficult conversation. A quieter period following a major deadline. Space to decompress after travel or a high-stakes presentation.
These moments help regulate energy and prevent pressure from accumulating without release. Recovery does not always need to be long to be effective, but it does need to be intentional.
Build rest into the strategy
Many people still see rest as a reward. Something to enjoy once the work is finished. Once the deadline has passed. Once the inbox is empty. Once everyone else has been looked after. The problem is that work is rarely completely finished. The inbox is in a perpetual cycle of rising and falling.
A more sustainable approach is to build recovery into the strategy from the beginning.
Look at the week or month ahead and ask:
Where will I need the most energy?
What do I need to do to prepare?
What can I simplify, move or delegate?
Where can I create slivers of recovery?
What will I need after the period of highest demand?
This is not about doing less. It is about managing effort more intelligently. You may find my rocks and pebbles approach helpful when looking ahead and building in those small, sustainable habits to help you sustain your energy and performance in the short and medium term, with more deliberate rest being planned in with a longer view.
Sustainable performance requires both
Whether we are talking about fitness, work or life more broadly, we need both effort and recovery. The Cadence Approach is not about avoiding pressure. It is about developing the awareness, visibility and agency to move through periods of pressure more sustainably.
Rest is not a sign that performance has stopped. It is part of how high-performance is sustained.
Make rest part of your high-performance strategy
If your people are operating at a constant pace, moving from one demand to the next without enough time to prepare or recover, the Cadence Approach can help them work differently. Through keynotes, masterclasses and practical tools, I help teams understand how to predict pressure points, prepare their energy, perform when it matters and recover with intention, so high performance becomes more sustainable.
If you’re interested in bringing this message to your organisation, explore my keynotes and get in touch to start a no-pressure conversation about the needs within your teams.
