As we flick the calendars over to Spring, here in the Southern Hemisphere the ominous cloud of the holiday season is looming. Ominous in that they become a deadline for well, everything.
The fence has to be painted, the project completed, the 5k training done, the campaign rolled out, the sales conference completed, the technical leaders summit held and of course, budgets for 2025 locked in and plans confirmed for just how the rabbits will be pulled out of the hats.
There’s a collective increase in social events and freneticism as it gets closer, and with many places closing for the summer break on Friday 20 December, well, that leaves us precisely 72 days. Did your sense of pressure increase a little? Sorry, that’s not the point of this, it’s more about knowing it and choosing to mix it up a little this year.
One of the practices I’ve developed over the last decade has been during the Oct-holiday season sprint, to take a weekend and fully ‘down tools’. To head away somewhere that lights up the senses – Kaikōura for the sunrises, Hokitika for the forest, Akaroa for the vista. The laptop gets left behind, books, coloured pens and a drawing pad are packed, and the only goal is creative thinking and some good old fashioned daydreaming.
It’s a lost art, daydreaming. Thinking about what is possible and letting our imaginations run wild is hardly encouraged in our switched on, hyper-connected world, and doesn’t seem to go well with constant bombardment of things demanding our time. So it’s a choice. A choice to allow some free time so just be, to think about ‘what if?’.
After we all blinked and 2019 became 2024, it does seem as if we’re all still just hanging on for a moment to catch our breath. This year, I really encourage you to prioritize some creative thinking and indulge in painting a picture of how epic 2025 might be for you. It’s really helped me shaping a vision and being inspired, and starting to build toward it well before the year comes to a close. It gives focus and clarity, and knowing what matters to you or what you’re aiming for even helps with what festive events to say yes or no to.
The timeout from the mayhem alone is regenerative, so if nothing else, just book a weekend away somewhere gorgeous and land at year’s end with some fuel in the tank and a dose of excitement for what might be next.
