Dead Zone Theory: We have efficiency caps that require us to have dead zones to reach optimal efficiency. We need to recharge ourselves or our productivity will decline.
We tend to go through the rhythms of life. While we believe we can work hard for as long as needed, very rarely is this the most efficient thing to do. Throughout nature there are periods of work followed by periods of rest, the same is true for us. We have times where we go into dead zones as a way to retreat from the world. This is inevitable, but it can also be confused with simply being lazy. They can occur at any time interval from yearly to every couple years or even by project.
What This Means
The main aspect of this theory is that we can’t be too hard on ourselves. That we have to understand that we can’t go full speed forever. We will have periods where we will not get much done because we need to recharge. This also means we can plan for these times. During this time, you can use it to reevaluate what your doing or simply switch to the small things you skipped when you were going full speed. This also means that you want to time this with allowing yourself to be lazy. If you don’t, you will end up with periods of laziness and dead zones which can constrain what you get done.
An Example
Winter tends to be where most people have their dead zones. This is when most people are effected by the weather and the holidays. They take this time off or slow down. After working the entire year, this is when people usually take time off and don’t get much done. This can also happen at work when you end up falling into a routine and don’t stray much from it.
