The Countdown is On!

Four more workdays before the OOO goes on to finish 2025… YES!

By this time of year, many leaders arrive at the finish line running on fumes — half dreaming of ham and champagne, half trying to clear the inbox before the “See you in January!” messages start rolling in.

For me, this transition into the Christmas break doesn’t happen with a single deep breath. It happens through small rituals, gentle signals to my brain that it’s safe to power down. That the world will keep turning without me. That rest isn’t indulgent… it’s intelligence.

My ritual begins by sketching the shape of next year.

I’ve already blocked out time in my diary for my first week back:

• Confirm the big rocks for 2026

• Choose my word for the year (hard to beat the accuracy of abundance in 2025!)

• Set my meeting rhythm for the year — start-of-week resets, end-of-day check-ins, end-of-week reflections, monthly reviews

• Draft high-level agendas so these meetings run with ease

• And a bit of blue-sky thinking… the “what ifs” that keep life curious and wide open

This isn’t work — it’s clearing the mental runway.

By doing this now, I’m giving myself the best Christmas gift: a mind that can switch from doing to being.

Because true relaxation requires one overlooked ingredient: permission.

We often think relaxation happens when the work stops, but in reality, it happens when the mind stops holding on. When we’ve tidied up enough loose ends — real or imagined — that the nervous system can finally exhale.

Relaxation usually needs three things:

1. A soft landing: gently closing the year, rather than crash-landing into Christmas Eve with your laptop still open.

2. Clear boundaries: removing the temptation to “just check emails.” Out-of-office on. Notifications off. Phone in another room.

3. A conscious moment of release: saying to yourself: I’ve done enough. I am enough. And the rest can wait.

Once that switch flips… everything changes.

Colours seem brighter.

Conversations feel richer.

Food tastes better.

Champagne bubbles vanish.

Your body finally unclenches. Your creativity returns — not in the form of ideas to execute, but possibilities to play with. Your nervous system recalibrates back to its original setting: human, not machine.

...And suddenly, the simple things — a quiet morning coffee, a walk, a laugh, a nap — feel luxurious.

This holiday season, I’m aiming for meaningful rest.

Rest that refreshes, not just distracts.

Rest that feels like turning toward life, not away from work.

Rest that reminds me who I am when I’m not “on”.

Because next year will ask for energy, clarity and courage — and those come from spaciousness, not busyness.

So, as you look ahead to your break, I’m curious: What do you do to truly relax over the Christmas period?

What are the rituals, boundaries or tiny habits that help you shift from “doing” to “being”?

I’d love to hear — we can all learn from each other’s unwind strategies.