5 Tips to Properly Recharge your Batteries this Christmas 🎄

It's the final sprint.

The Christmas tree is up. You can already smell the Christmas cookies. Maybe you even already watched your first Christmas movie.

Just a couple of days to go until you can write your out-of-office, shut your laptop down, and enjoy the bliss of the Holiday season.

If you're like the vast majority of corporate professionals, by now you are probably feeling exhausted, drained and burnt out.

Here's the thing with the Holidays: we get this feeling that January 1st is a whole new chapter and we want to "start fresh" - which can be positive, but also results in a lot of us rushing to wrap up any ongoing projects and tie up loose ends. As a result, the month of December can feel like a crazy sprint. Not only is work busy, social obligations also ramp up in parallel: you've got your office Christmas party, your Secret Santa with friends, ... the list goes on.

If you can feel yourself getting at the end of your rope, properly recharging the batteries during the Holidays will be crucial before you start a whole new year. The issue, though, is that when we go through such a big adrenaline rush during the last month of the year, it can be difficult to actually relax when we finally get to take some time off.

"Recharging the batteries" sounds nice in theory - but how do we do it?

Here are my 4 best tips:

TIP #1 - LEARN TO BE BORED

Like I mentioned above, it might be difficult for you to relax if the adrenaline has been high at work in the past few weeks. As a result, you might subconsciously try to fill up every second of your time with some sort of activity or form of stimulation: checking social media, checking your emails, watching Netflix, ... anything other than doing nothing.

So - here's what I encourage you to do throughout the Holidays:

Allow empty moments to be empty moments.

When there's nothing going on, don't try to fill up the space with extra sensory stimulation.

... stare into space.

... sit there, on the couch, with a cup of tea, doing nothing.

... admire the Christmas tree.

... look out the window.

... just be there.

You might feel like it's boring or like it's serving no purpose, but here's the thing: anytime you allow yourself to do nothing, your brain takes that time to process. Your nervous system regulates itself. The adrenaline goes down and leaves space for relaxation.

Learn to be bored - even if for just a few minutes here and there.

TIP #2 - GET OFF YOUR SCREENS

Related to Tip #1, try to spend as much time off your phone, laptop, and screens in general.

Screens are a huge information overload. As soon as we turn on our phones or laptop (and, yes, that includes a relaxing Netflix show), our brain suddenly has to process thousands of images, colours, text, sounds, and information.

In addition, the more you spend time on your phone, the less present you are in your actual life, that is happening right now, when you look up from the screen!

This includes things like taking photos or videos. It's great to take a few special photos of your family gatherings or of your beautiful tree but, once that's done, remember to put your phone away and be fully present with your loved ones. This will allow you to take it all in, truly enjoy this time, create memories, and start 2023 feeling refreshed.

TIP #3 - IMPLEMENT ONE HEALTHY HABIT A DAY

I am ALL for taking some time off of your gym routine, your yoga practice, and even your healthy eating habits during the Holidays.

But let's be real: if you don't move, eat crap and spend your entire time watching Netflix all day, you will most probably start 2023 feeling depleted, lazy and unmotivated.

So here's my suggestion: throughout the Holidays, try to maintain at least ONE healthy habit a day.

For example:

• Eat a healthy breakfast

• Go for a nice walk with a family member

• Meditate

• Take time for a nice Yoga session on your own

• Go for a run

• Go skiing!

• Drink enough water (and maybe take a day off the booze)

• Get 9 hours of sleep!

• Stay off your phone for an entire day

TIP #4 - EAT MINDFULLY

Again, I am ALL for enjoying ALL of the Christmas treats. The Holidays are not the time to be rigid with your diet or to worry about calories (it's never the time to worry about calories, tbh). Give yourself full permission to eat whatever your heart desires.

That being said, eating mindfully can make a world of a difference when it comes to how you'll feel after the Holidays.

Eating mindfully doesn't mean depriving yourself of food - quite the opposite. Mindful eating is about being fully present with your eating experience: taking the time to chew properly, actually taking a second to smell and taste what you're eating, and being aware of how the food is making you feel.

Here are a few ways to practice mindful eating over the Holidays:

• Put your fork down in between bites to give yourself time to chew and enjoy your food.

• Serve yourself half of what you think you'll want. This will give you an opportunity, at the half-way point, to check in with how you're feeling. The point here is not to not go for the second half - it's only to do a little check-in to see if you actually want the second half.

• Enjoy all of the Holiday treats that you want and, when you do, be conscious of how they taste, how they smell, how they feel in your mouth - truly enjoying the experience.

• Sit to eat: avoid mindlessly grabbing a cookie when you walk by the kitchen, or eating a quick bite of turkey left-over when you go get yourself a drink in the fridge. Instead, be deliberate about the snacks you want, sit down, and take time to properly enjoy your food.

Remember: mindful eating is not about restriction.

When you eat mindfully, you do sometimes tend to eat less since you are more acutely aware of your hunger levels and of how you're feeling - but that is not the purpose of it.

Remember, too, that "hunger" doesn't only mean physical hunger. It's okay to go for one more slice of cake even if you're not "hungry" anymore, just because it is too darn delicious! Mindful eating is only about being more present with your meals as well as with your physical and mental cues.

TIP #5 - IMPLEMENT BOUNDARIES WITH YOUR ENERGY

Family gatherings can take a toll on our energy levels.

You might get questioned during Christmas dinner about what you're doing with your life.

Your drunk uncle might monopolise the conversation around delicate political subjects.

You might get annoyed at a sibling who regresses back to childish behaviours.

Maybe someone even makes a comment about what or how much you are eating.

Or perhaps this one family member keeps complaining or criticising other people.

To avoid your head exploding at the end of family gatherings, it is your responsibility to be firm with your boundaries so that you don't waste your energy.

For example:

• Don't keep trying to offer solutions to a family member who complains about everything, if you know very well that they are actually not looking for solutions but are just wanting to vent.

• Don't engage in discussions that you know tend to get you fired up if you know that there is no possibility for a healthy debate with the person that you are talking to. Sometimes, it's better to smile and nod along :) to preserve your energy.

• It's okay to be firm about topics that you do not want to talk about. If you constantly get asked about your romantic life and if you know that nothing positive ever comes out of those discussions, it's okay to simply say: "I will not discuss this. Who wants more Brussels sprouts?!"

I hope that this article helps you to enjoy the Holidays, to recharge your batteries, and to start 2023 feeling like a million bucks!

Happy Holidays 💕

Vic