Ben Simpson is a grazier and RCS coach based in Central Western Queensland. Together with his wife, Kim, Ben operates Thistlebank, a
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Grazing systems that don’t incorporate rest periods into their management plans will inevitably notice an increase in weeds, less desirable species and bare ground. Government reports from North Qld to Tasmania show this degradation. And while any graduate of an RCS course will be well aware of Grazing Principle #2 : plants need adequate rest, that’s not what this article is going to talk about…
The question is: where else should we consider incorporating rest into our businesses?
The biggest area where rest must be incorporated is for the people. How proactive are you in planning rest periods for the most important animal in your business – the two-legged ones? Like anything else in business, unless we plan for adequate rest, it is unlikely to happen.
At a weekly level, are you planning for and giving yourself permission to rest and recharge? Murray Masarik said something to me at a course earlier this year that really struck a chord. He said, “Your to-do list is only ever going to be half done for the rest of your life”. What I heard from this was that there will always be work that could be done. We never reach a point in life where there are no jobs that could be done. The trap that so many of us fall into is not taking a break because there are things that need to be done. Do you have a method for prioritising jobs built into your weekly planning? We cover some great principles on this in the Grazing for Profit School, so book in or take a look at your manual.
What about at an annual level? If I were to drop in today and see you, would I see where you’ve got some holidays planned into your calendar for the next 12 months? Do you have somewhere where the operational plan is visible for the team? Planning for the whole team to take holidays is just as important as planning when you’ll put the bulls out or start planting. Terry McCosker has always said, “You can get a year’s work done in 11 months; however, you can’t get it done in 12 months”. If you work the whole year without building in some rest and recovery periods, you’ll still not get to the bottom of the to-do list. In addition, you will probably be tired and run down, which will make you less efficient and more likely to make slower or poorer decisions. This, in turn, will increase the workload. It is a vicious cycle.
Can I encourage you to look at the weeks and year ahead and plan in rest periods for your most important asset, you?
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Ben Simpson is a grazier and RCS coach based in Central Western Queensland. Together with his wife, Kim, Ben operates Thistlebank, a
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