Colin Powells advice: Take the weekend off

When asked on CNN about his advice for then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he said: "Take the weekend off". That doesn't mean that she should not be aware whats going on in the world or shut the phone off. That means, that she should stay at home, connected to her staff electronically, but not necessarily physically. "You nee time to rest", Powell said on CNN, "and thats what i did a home." If there was a crisis, he went to office, of course. But if not, he stayed at home.

I totally agree. Staying at home does not mean you are not working. But its a different environment, you can set new priorities and you have still time to rest and recharge yourself.

Its a kind of advice I have for companies in Southeast Asia: Forget the work on saturday, in most offices the saturday isn't really productive. Be more flexible, introduce home office work, VPN, and give you staff so time to rest. At the end they will be more motivated and productive.