Hello again. Another week has flown by. How many of you had a different mindset about their impending holiday / YOU time since the last blog? Preparing for our much needed holidays is so often hampered with the pressures of work to finish off and often burning the midnight candle that many of us only just start to “switch off” when it is time to come back again. At Space2BE we encourage our clients to take a different approach.

Illuminating some of our entrenched habits our client Jessica Silva, Product Director at vielife shares with us her story…

“Holiday booked? Check. Beautiful destination with the right mix of activities and relaxation? Check. Looking forward to some quality time with my family? Oh check, check, check! But wait, what’s this?… I’m starting to think that maybe I shouldn’t go, because I have too much to do?!

This, by all accounts is crazy thinking. But sadly it is the way that many of us end up preparing for our long-awaited week in the sun. Not by planning with guide book in hand, but with late night sessions in the office to make sure everything is done.

I can’t even count the number of times I have stayed late in the office before taking some time off. Until very recently I took this as a rite of passage; part of the experience of going away. I fully expected I’d still be sending emails at the airport and would be on email everyday while I was away. Did this mean I fully relaxed while I was on holiday, hell no. But, hey, it’s important, right? I even did this before my wedding. My WEDDING. I didn’t finish packing (we were getting married abroad) until 1.30am for a 3.30am taxi pick up. Why? Cause I was in the office until after 7pm and then picking up presents for the family until the shops shut at 9pm. Why so unprepared? You guessed it, I was working; preparing for the 3 weeks I was about to take off. It wasn’t even my boss making me feel like this either, it was me. All me.

I know I am not alone in behaving like this. A friend of mine, let’s call her Anna, booked a wonderful fortnight in the Caribbean with her family. Each day they set themselves up on a beautiful desert island beach, and each day as her husband settled down to read or play with the kids, while she whipped out her Blackberry and started tapping away. Tap, tap, tap on day three, and having had next to no ‘real’ conversation with the family, enough was enough. Her husband snatched the offending device – mid email – and threw it in the sea. It was only after she marched off to the hotel’s internet café that she realised that she’d over-stepped the mark (not him) and that perhaps those emails weren’t ‘that’ important.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that in the ‘always on’ world, we can completely turn off and forget what’s happening back home. I think it’s important my boss and colleagues know how to contact me if something really important comes up, but, seriously, if I can’t take a week off without looking at my email every day I am doing something wrong. And more seriously, it’s really important for our health and performance at work that we all take time off when we do properly relax, unwind and have fun.

No one performs at their best if they are ‘always on’. We need to recharge. We need to sleep and feel rested. We need to take our time over good food. Enjoy the company of others. Drink-in the sights and sounds of places that we find ourselves. Take time just to stop and be. ‘Being in the moment’ has become part of our vernacular, but how often do we really do it? Holidays are the perfect opportunity for taking the time to enjoy now. To not wish the time away, to not worry about how many emails are sitting in our inbox. We will manage to deal with them when we get home, and we’ll do it so much better if we’ve taken the time to step back, breathe deeply and freely and shake off the pressures we put on ourselves.

For my holiday this year, I am going to let my colleagues and clients know how to contact me, but with clear boundaries. I won’t be replying to email, but I will pick up the phone if you need to call. Let us all have some proper down time this year and enjoy paradise regained”

Thanks Jessica Silva for sharing your story. We look forward to hearing how the reality matched the goal.

Just a short blog today… as to be honest, I am rushed off my feet. Developing a new business is not for the faint hearted and I am becoming increasingly aware that daily ‘me’ time is becoming an essential – not a desirable. So – I am pleased to report that whilst I am still working silly hours I am feeling full of vitality as I’ve managed to squeeze in 3 lots of exercise, a massage and a reflexology session this week! The reflexology specialist has also agreed to join our growing team of experts who are very excited about working with you as we integrate wellness experiences with your leadership and coaching programmes.

More from us soon… as the advance of autumnal air starts to appear we will be moving on to a ‘back to work’ theme for our next blog – how to set yourself up for a dynamic, successful last quarter.