Self Care for the Holidays

[👋 ](=) Hi! As I’m sure you’re no doubt aware, the holiday season will soon be upon us. While I don’t know your personal commitments over this time, I’m happy to share some details about mine. I have an incredible wife and two fantastic kids. And, it’s always my aim to make the holiday season the best possible time for them. Of course, being the CEO of Lifehack means that I still need to keep my business running smoothly, even when the kids want to play! When my first child was born, I remember just how much of my time was dedicated to looking after him. If you have children - you’ll know exactly what I mean. When they’re born, your time and focus immediately changes. And, quite frankly, it’s hard to get back into the normal work routine. When my second son came along, I was a little more prepared and knew what to expect. However, as they’ve gotten older, this has presented new challenges. Namely, it’s hard to keep two young children occupied and satisfied. And of course, from time-to-time, there’s the inevitable competition between them. Fortunately, they’re both growing up to be smart kids, and I’m hopeful they’ll follow me down the ‘productivity guru’ route! Coming back to the holiday season, here are some of the ways that I keep my business running smoothly, while still having plenty of time to enjoy the holidays with my family: Plan Ahead As is my standard practice, I try and plan my days and weeks ahead of time. I find this to be the best way to optimize my efficiency and productivity. And, this is especially helpful over the holiday period. For example, by planning important meetings to fall before and after the school holidays, this enables me to spend the maximum amount of time with my family. Start Early I never used to think of myself as an ‘early bird’. In fact, I often struggled to get up early in the morning during my college days. However, when I started researching the lives of highly successful people, I came across one common trait - they all woke up early! In most cases, these people were hard at work while the majority were still fast asleep. Although it wasn’t easy for me in the beginning, I made a conscious effort to make my waking and working time as early as possible. Nowadays, I wake up (without an alarm) at about 6am every day. This gives me plenty of time to get myself ready for the day ahead, to spend some time exercising, and then to begin my work at 7:30am. By starting work early, I get more done, as the office is typically quiet and free from distractions. It also means that I can leave early (3pm to 4pm) when I want to spend more time with my family. Get Plenty of Rest It goes without saying, that to perform at our best, we have to get sufficient rest. Personally, I take regular breaks during the day, as well as ensuring I have at least one full day (preferably two) to spend at my leisure. And, for the holiday periods I make more of an effort. I either take some time off, or I ensure that I only work for a maximum of four days in a week. To make this successful, it again comes down to planning what I need to do and when I need to do it. Work Remotely Technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years, and as I’m sure you’re aware, it’s now possible to do most office work remotely (for example, in a coworking space, cafe or at home). For me, this means that when it comes to holiday times, I can choose to work from home so that I can spend more time with my family. Of course, with two lively kids in the house, it’s important that when I’m working I’m not constantly distracted. Fortunately, I’ve taught my sons that my home office is out of bounds to them when I’m working - but I do make sure to interact with them during my regular breaks. Be Flexible As the famous line from Robert Burns states: “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” How true! Meticulously planning our work for the day is certainly commendable. And, as I mentioned above, I’m definitely a fan of planning. But, all plans should have a built-in response for unexpected occurrences. For instance, imagine you’ve allocated a working day as follows: - three hours for writing project documentation - a couple of hours to work on a PowerPoint presentation - an hour for a meeting - an hour to go through your emails While the day starts off smoothly and you feel that you’re on track, out of the blue, your manager asks you to join them for a departmental meeting that will take place in the afternoon between 1pm-3pm. Due to the importance of the meeting, you have no choice but to attend. But of course, your plans for the day all messed up! That’s why I recommend you always leave space in your schedule for unexpected events. And, this is especially true at home, when kids can abruptly demand your time and attention. Even if you can’t take a full break from your work - the holiday season should still be fun! To help make it so, I recommend you follow some of my tips above, and that you also click through to the article below to discover more ways to successfully manage your time. [10 Time Management Mistakes Most People Fall Into]() What else would you like to learn about in the daily newsletter? Please [r](=)eply to this email, as I’d love to hear your feedback! Cheers! - Leon [Facebook]( [Twitter](=) [Pinterest]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe]( [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]() 113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205