Work will wait — how to remember what you forgot.

Hi there ????. Ready to lead? "Acts of Leadership" helps people, (irrespective of title or tenure), expand their leadership range one experiment at a time. Each issue shares a [pro/e]vocative definition of leadership, an idea and an experiment.

Holidays

How was your Summer?

Chances are that you're back from your break and back at work.

?? How was your re-entry?

?? What did you discover as you reflect on your break?

I've enjoyed this conversation repeatedly with my coaching clients this week. And I've been curious about their experience.

How intentional were they in being on holiday and away from the job. In disconnecting. In switching off.

How easy was it to switch off, to re-energizing and regenerate.

What did they learn.

Or more accurately, what did they remind themselves of.

Last Autumn I traveled for an entire month. An experiment...

?? immersing myself in nature once more

?? creating quality time with dear friends

?? to get a sense of being a digital nomad

I reminded myself of what was possible, and knew I wanted more of this in my future.

That was 10 months ago.

And I'd already forgotten that feeling.

Until this week.

A Definition…

"Leadership is... reminding yourself of what you've forgotten."

An Idea…

Holidays are disruptors

Holidays are a state-change

Change and disruption can be hard

Switching off, and disconnecting takes time

To shed the pull of routine

It's tough letting go

After prolonged periods of focus, change takes time

Hyper-activated in the rush to get it all done before you left

Holidays, real holidays, are seldom long enough

It takes the best part of a week to relax into them

To drop the routine of work and to care less for the stuff no longer in line of sight

To relax, to breathe, to look up

Quality time with the people that matter

Resisting the urge to check in on emails

How did you do with disconnecting from work?

What worked for you? What didn't?

Then you settle in

Remembering there's more to life than work

And just as you start to enjoy it...

...the holiday comes to an end and the stress of re-entry looms

...good vibes start to evaporate (the low boiling point of memory)

Before you know it, it feels like you never went away.

But there's something important you have to say

It's imperative you don't lose this thought

That you hold on to it

Fragile as it is

A single idea

A simple truth

So you write it down

An email to yourself, scheduled to be sent a month from now

So you won't forget this again

An Experiment…

?? - Think back to your most recent significant holiday. A time when you fully disconnected from work. What was important? What seemed possible?

Take up to 10 minutes. Write an email to yourself. Capture what was important. What was the thought, the idea? What was possible? What feeling do you want to remember and not have stifled under the weight of routine and to-do lists? Schedule-send it to deliver a month from now.

?? - A holiday is a state change, where you get space to look up and see from a new perspective. Schedule 4five minutes of reflection time at the end of the week. Take yourself to a different location to reflect on your week and the upcoming week. Extra kudos for being outside, or moving your body while you do this.

?? - Take up to 2 minutes before every conversation for the next week, and set yourself an intention for this next interaction

An invitation to explore…

?? Forbes: Why Taking Vacation Time Could Save Your Life : Caroline Castrillon

?? TED: Sabbaticals: Time [off] well spent : Dennis DiDonna [13:47]

Leadership needn't be lonely!

Lead when ready!

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