Holidays - How to manage the ‘dash and crash’ #073

Exhaustion is optional...

“Phew, made it”

There I was, in a gorgeous part of Andalucía, exhausted, covered in cold sores, with a streaming cold, unable to leave my bed, interact, and appreciate my surroundings and partner for at least 72 hours.

All because of the unsustainable and insane pressure I put myself under to be ‘ready’ for my holiday.

Sound familiar?

The ‘dash & crash’

I watched a Linked In Live¹ recently about the importance of workplace self-care and recovery. It got me thinking about the purpose of holidays and how woefully unprepared for holidays most of us are. I don’t mean pedicures, waxing and wardrobes, albeit let’s be honest, they all help. I mean the cliff edge crash out of work on to the literal or metaphorical sun bed.

You know, that pre-holiday crescendo as you frantically try to finish your (unending) To Do List with just one more meeting, one more email, one more report. Priding yourself on ‘the sh*t you can get done when you put your mind to it’? Or, if leading or managing a team thinking, ‘why on earth can’t they work like that all year round?’.

Perhaps not our finest moments in self-management or leadership!

What’s a holiday for?

But back to the purpose of holidays.

Holidays are a time to recharge, recover and reconnect. To relax, explore, adventure. To spend quality time with the people we love, whether family or friends, maybe children, adult children or grandchildren. To learn something new or immerse ourselves in our chosen activity – cycling, sailing, painting, writing, cooking. With treats and indulgences to boot.

Given all of these compelling reasons, why don’t we prepare better for this hugely important event?

Athletes know that recovery fuels performance, they wouldn’t dream of running a marathon without training and tapering as race day approaches. So why in business do we treat holidays like an emergency evacuation rather than the essential part of maintenance and recovery they are?

I think we can do better.

Another approach

Before your next holiday, have this conversation with yourself, or better still, your partner, ideally over a glass of something cool and delicious:

What do I actually need from this break? What does my family need from me during this time? What is needed before and during the holiday to make this happen?

If you’re working, why not have a similar conversation with your colleagues to agree what can be done differently to prepare for your departure so everyone thrives rather than survives, before and whilst you are away.

You

As ever, I’m interested in you. Have you found a way to better transition into holiday mode? What do you do to make sure you arrive on holiday fit, well and raring to go? Pour yourself a pre-holiday Spritz and drop me a line, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And remember, you are never going to be any younger than you are today. Get that holiday booked and do all you can to make every minute matter, whatever that means to you.

Until next week my friends

Ruth x

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Amendment to last weeks post Being Proud– I’d forgotten I have marched once before - The Women’s March in January 2017 marking Trump’s first inauguration…

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This week’s social highlights

Spending a balmy Saturday evening at Kew Gardens with friends (and a middle aged, middle class, white crowd) watching the incredible Alison Moyet. After 40 years as a single artist, she just gets better and better… her 1982 single ’Only You’ (I know, she half of Yazoo then) still nestles in my singles collection…

And if you get the opportunity to see ‘Girl from the North Country’ at The Old Vic, grab it with both hands. Set to the music of Bob Dylan and staged in a Boarding House, this is a moving depiction of depression heavy 1930’s Minnesota.

1. The Linked In Live was presented by my friend Sara Milne Rowe and Abi Stephens. Sara is the author of The SHED Method – a truly worthwhile read for anyone who wants to operate at the top of their game..