Episode 23 – How Personal Time Off & Downtime Drives Passion with Ryan Estis (@ryanestis)

I am a believer that we, as employees and citizens of the world, want to bring our best self to work. We want to be productive, happy and fulfilled in our careers and jobs just like we do in our personal lives. Late last year I took a work hiatus and stepped away from the doldrum that work sometimes creates. I took some personal time off in the hopes that it would reignite my passion and love of this crazy and quirky responsibility I have in HR and recruiting. This concept of creating “downtime” and personal time off to drive productivity and engagement at work isn’t new, but it is something that we often set aside because we are just too busy to stop, reflect and think. It’s time to re-assess our priorities.

In this episode of the Workology Podcast, I talk with workplace passion igniter and popular keynote speaker, Ryan Estis. Ryan knows a thing or two about passion. It’s an important thread he weaves into his keynote speeches and consulting work. In 2014, Ryan traveled to 70 different locations to give talks and keynote presentations. Being on the road like that can be very draining. Ryan’s solution was to go to a 4 day work week allowing for time away from technology and work in order to bring his best self to his clients and when he speaks (Read his post on Why Downtime Matters).

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur like Ryan or myself to commit to taking downtime to drive passion. Ryan shares best practices on how workplace cultures and business leaders can help ignite passion. Your organization doesn’t have to be Zappos to make meaningful business and personal change. Business leaders in all industries from internet apparel and accounting can use downtime to transform their company. Ryan mentions Netflix as a great resource in how they have reinvented passion in their workplace as well as HR and accounting firm McGladrey. Resources are listed below. I encourage you to listen to the podcast to hear about how passion can be ignited by downtime and a great culture. These small changes can transform your business as well as the lives of your company. Connect with Ryan Estis on LinkedIn.