Returning to Work and the Year Ahead…

What a summer! I’ve enjoyed some scorching temperatures these holidays with daily time in and on the water.  Holidays for me are busy, energetic, and fun times with family and friends. Dinners outside at 9pm and generally no routine or schedule, and although I’m returning to Auckland sore and tired, it’s not from working, but playing!

So how do you get up the next day ready to start work again? 

I am not a morning person (except when I’m on holiday) and with the return to Auckland I have the return of allergies and the drowsiness each morning from sinuses. The way I deal with the mornings are 30 minutes of quiet time drinking my ‘get up and go’ coffee. Sometimes I use this half an hour to just sit and wake up slowly, other times I use it to think about the day ahead and build the excitement required to be enthusiastic for the tasks ahead.

From that point, I launch into the day full on and try to enjoy every bit of it – I’ve written articles before about life being short and my thoughts are to put as much effort into everything we do that we can. I’m not saying we have to be ‘energiser bunny’ all the time but when we have the health, energy and the passion for something, USE IT!

Last year, I thought our team, others I talked to, and myself for that matter, handled the lock downs and the uncertainty rather well. It wasn’t until that last month in December that I realised we were all tired and in real need of the upcoming holiday break – it was starting to show (more than the normal end of year slow down).

So, what do we do if we have a repeat of last year? 

I think I might just treat it a little like my holiday and my daily half hour – just go with it, do the best you can. Try not to be so rigid with schedules and routine – enjoy the freedom that holidays offer. And use your wake-up time each day to prepare, to be excited about the day ahead. Everything we do is an experience and the way we handle it makes us who we are.

And lastly, don’t take everything you read as a recipe for you to follow, find out what helps to get you motivated (it may be that you love the mornings – you may need the pick-up / half hour to yourself at the end or in the middle of the day). Or if you are excited about this year, you have already got plans and ideas, come and talk to one of our team. We’d love to be part of your journey.