Getting ready for the December break
When we look back at the year filled with challenges and disappointments, you might look forward to this holiday break as an essential opportunity to renew your energy. As a leadership coach, I call high-performers: Corporate Athletes.
They understand the importance of balancing stress (energy expenditure) with recovery (energy renewal). They too need the necessary time and energy to rest and more importantly, rest well.
The way you take care of your body has a huge impact on your ability to perform under pressure. To be effective at work, we must first ensure we have the ENERGY required to make an impact.
Here are some practical ideas to revive your spark and energy levels during the holidays.
- Get outside
If you are going away, make the most of the walking trails at your destination. Staying at home? Get your hands dirty and work in your garden.
The holidays are a good time to naturally enhance the neurotransmitters in your brain. Spending time in nature, and getting a good dose of vitamin D, can naturally increase these neurotransmitters.
- Make SLEEP a priority
It is super tempting to burn the candle at both ends during the holiday season. Holiday schedules can be jam-packed and late nights with family and friends is part of the fun. However, if you are serious about your energy recovery, it is critical to ensure you get sufficient sleep to ensure your body can function optimally when you are back at work.
Post-holiday fatigue is a real thing, so let’s make sure you “don’t need a holiday after your holiday”. So, take those afternoon naps!
- Laughter remains the best medicine
Nothing works faster to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Be intentional about creating opportunities to laugh.
Arrange a game night with friends, watch a funny movie or play with your pet. Remember that smiling is the beginning of laughter, and like laughter, it’s contagious. So, it might even just be to give a quick smile to a stranger in the grocery queue in front of you.
- What is your time worth?
Time is the currency of your holiday (and life), so spend it wisely. Intentionally be aware of what you spend your time on.
An easy tool to determine if something is worth the time, start with getting a number (rand value) of what an hour of your time is worth. A tip is to make your value comfortably high. Now, you can calculate what scrolling on social media or binge-watching a Netflix series is costing you.
You might see that taking care of your health, preparing nutritious meals, giving attention to your spouse or doing things for others, is a better return on your time investment.
- Slower and softer
Yes, for some of us the holiday season is chaotic and can be stressful. It is tempting to go all out and a sense of lack of control can feel overwhelming. We don’t need to rush everywhere.
We often overlook the importance of getting the basics in place. You can spend hours searching for, making or wrapping presents. Create a few simple holiday rituals for your family. Be PRESENT for your loved one over finding perfect things.
On another point, are you worried that you may struggle to cope with energy-draining holidaymakers, in-laws or nagging neighbours? It is not the behaviour of others that leads to your annoyance — it is the story you tell yourself about their behaviour that leads to your feeling.
Do you want to reclaim your peace? Consider what is the story you are telling yourself about their behaviour and think about when you also displayed a similar type of behaviour. This will support you to move from judgement to act in a more civil way.
