Richard Jolly explains how looking after your wellbeing could improve your work and your life.

1. Are you looking after your wellbeing?
Richard Jolly shares why being mindful
of three concepts could improve your
work and your life.
3 reasons to stop,
think and sleep
Stop
Think
Sleep

2. 2
In our complex, technology-enabled
lives, one of the hardest challenges
is protecting our thinking time. Most
executives are connected to their
smartphones from the moment they
wake up until they are lying in bed
checking their emails at night.
We need to regain our focus to succeed.
Take a holistic approach to yourself
Stop, think, sleep

3. 3
Stop, think, sleep
Stop
We need calm, mindful thinking
time. To achieve that, consider
three wellbeing concepts: stop,
think and sleep.
3 reasons to stop, think and sleep
Think
Sleep

4. 4
Stop, think, sleep
Stop
1. Stop
You’re busy. Are you prepared to put
on the brakes?
Based on 10 years of executive
interviews, I’ve found that 95% of
people suffer from ‘hurry sickness’
– an understandable reaction to a
world that’s increasingly complicated
and chaotic.
Getting things done feels good: our
brains reward us with a hit of dopamine.
But if you continue at your rate of busy
it will affect your career and your health.

5. 5
Stop, think, sleep
The act of thinking is a lifestyle choice,
and one that improves brain health.
The brain is the place that generates
people’s thoughts, feelings and
movements. It’s also the home of ideas.
Carve out time to think. Figure out when
you have your best ideas. What time of
the day is it? Is it before eating? Or after
the gym? The time you have will only
get more squeezed and the problems
you need to solve will only get more
complex. Optimise your thinking time.
Now.
2. Think
Stop
Think

6. 6
Stop, think, sleep
No one can think without sleep. But it’s
hard to achieve. To prepare yourself
physically for a challenging expeditious
world you must take care of your
wellbeing. Contemplate the fact that the
amount of sleep you’re getting might
simply not be enough.
How much sleep is enough to make
you sharp? And how much is too much
to make you slow and groggy? It takes
time to test.
3. Sleep
Stop
Think
Sleep

7. 7
If sleep increases happiness, thinking
builds productivity and stopping
supports smarter decisions, why are
people still bragging about their terrible
habits? Because they support the
outdated idea that if you’re busy, you’re
important.
Make sure you’re not too busy to stop,
in too much of a hurry to think and too
stimulated to sleep. Senior executives
should be role models of behaviour, be
passionate about their work and live
according to their true beliefs.
Be a role model
Stop, think, sleep

8. Richard Jolly is an Adjunct Professor
of Organisational Behaviour at London
Business School.
The full blog post was published on
London Business School Review online
Visit the website: www.london.edu/lbsr