I know, I know.....like you need ME to tell YOU what to do with your time off! But I'm going to respectfully ask you to purposefully ensure you do these three things over your break and I promise you, they will go a long way to setting yourself up for success as we roll into 2021.
Remember leadership is as much as about how you lead yourself as how you lead others. Those you lead see how you lead yourself and as we all know, 'actions speak louder than words' and 'do as I say, not as I do' doesn't quite cut it (either at home as a parent or for a leader in the workplace).
1. Rest and Recharge
A lot of us are running on fumes right now. Some of us are running on pure survival adrenaline and may think that we're doing A-OK. Some of us have no idea how tired our minds and bodies really are because we don't stop for long enough to actually listen to them. When we do stop, we tune into our phones, Netflix, some other distraction or simply just fall asleep because we are so drained.
Stop, pause and actually tune into your body. Listen to what it's telling you. Are you shoulders hunched up by your ears? Is your jaw clenched? Have you aches and pains in your back or legs that you hadn't really been paying any attention to? Try a short body scan mindfulness meditation to help you tune into your body and hear what it might need. The free Smiling Mind app has options suitable for a range settings and ages.
Even if you don't try out the body scan, make of the list of things that support you to rest and recharge your batteries, whether that's physically, mentally, socially or spiritually. You can use our Conscious Personal Leadership model and worksheet see below) to help with this.
2. Reflect
Like every other year, I know that 2020 will evoke a range of different emotions for each person. But I also know that 2020 will be collectively be remembered globally for a couple of key things such as #BlackLivesMatter, COVID-19 and the US presidential election. Apologies if there are other significant global events I've omitted, but that's the capacity of my brain right now!
And while all of these things were happening on the global stage, each person will have had their own unique experience of these plus any other personal and local challenges and successes. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......what a complex world we live in.
So, why does this matter? Because whether we like it or not, we need to mentally and emotionally process 2020. We need to take time to reflect on the year and all of the experiences and events that have happened and decide what we will take from these experiences, what we have learned, what we must let go of and how we will move forward into 2021. We need to audit the 2020 baggage we are taking into 2021, lighten the load where we can and make sure that what we are taking is actually useful.
Try this:
Take a notebook and and write the answers to these questions:
What are the significant experiences that positively and negatively impacted my life in 2020?
Why did each of these experiences have a positive or negative impact on me?
What did I learn from each experience? Why is that important?
From the answers to the previous questions, what is helpful for me to remember in future and what is no longer useful to me?
How will I use what I have learned in 2021?
Reflect on experiences, decide what is useful and what is not and move forward with confidence.
3. Reset the clock and calendar
We treat time like our greatest enemy and it is generally the root of all scarcity because apparently there is never enough of it. I would argue that the problem is not the lack of time, it's the lack of clarity we have on our priorities. EVERYTHING is URGENT, EVERYTHING is important.....or is it? (This is my BIGGEST challenge!)
Try this:
1. Take a week of your 2021 calendar and empty it completely.
2. Make a list of the all the tasks and events that you would fill this week up with.
3. Assess all tasks and events for urgency and importance (could use this matrix) and list in order of priority from highest to lowest.
4. Add tasks and events into the calendar and while doing so, say out the loud the reason this item is a priority. Be honest with yourself!
I shared a post about using a similar technique when assessing what was realistic to achieve over the last few work weeks of 2020. Check it out here.
So there you go, three R's for you to gift yourself or share with someone else this Christmas. They are all absolutely FREE and will have a massive impact on you if you commit to them as you roll into the new year.
Merry Christmas, have a fantastic holiday and beginning to 2021!
Here are some of the ways we will be supporting our clients in 2021 so feel free to get in touch if you think would be helpful for you:
Leadership and professional development coaching
CliftonStrengths® assessments and coaching
Public and inhouse leadership workshops and programmes
Womxn's leadership & professional development programme (NEW in 2021)
Leadership development consultancy & advice
Bespoke solutions combining above and drawing on expertise of key partners
Phone/whatsapp: +64(22)6768858
Website: www.caraconsulting.co.nz
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