Challenge & Recovery

In his most recent Feedback Loops column, “Challenge & Recovery,” in the March Illinois Bar Journal, Patrick Barry discusses the importance of balancing one’s “challenge days,” when you have to perform at a high level and “recovery days,”  when rejuvenation is the goal. If you don’t get your own challenge-recovery balance right, Barry advises, the quality of the feedback you give other people can suffer, as can your ability to productively process the feedback that’s sent your way. Three straight weeks of challenge days can sap even the most well-stocked mental and emotional reserves, leaving you simultaneously less patient and more defensive during crucial conversations—both at work and at home. That’s not really a good formula for consistent growth and development.

Read the March Illinois Bar Journal’s article, “Challenge & Recovery”