Mindful Monday - July 12th

Hello and good morning!

Downtime. Summer. Break. Chill.

Are you ready?

It’s one thing to not be at work or “working”, and another to have set yourself up to really enjoy, appreciate and engage with real downtime. All too often I meet people who end up being stressed out by their time off because they dread the 1,000 emails they’ll return to, or the build-up of problems that will greet them after their “fabulous time away”. Often, they even wonder if it was worth taking the time at all. Shame.

But, with a little forward thinking, your well-earned break can be the rejuvenating, relaxing experience that you hoped for!

Get real
Be honest with yourself – is it really feasible to turn off the phone and email for the whole time? Maybe it just isn’t. Perhaps 20 minutes a day to check in and keep an eye on things is a better way to go and will prove less stressful in the long run.

If this fits for you, try committing to 15-20 minutes each day to prevent yourself from sinking into the email abyss…

Ask for help
If you have colleagues who are covering for you, ask them to keep you in the loop for certain things that are super high priority and offer to do the same for when they take a break.

What to do with your downtime
As always, it’s worth jotting down your hopes and dreams for your time off.

Travel.
Read a book.
Exercise.
Create.
Learn.
Indulge.
Pick a couple that would make you feel really satisfied if you managed to complete them. Prioritise!

It’s pretty easy to over commit yourself – especially when you actually want to just chill out. Remember, just because you were invited somewhere, doesn’t mean you have to say yes.

Practise saying:
“Thank you so much for the offer, it sounds really fun! Let me check my schedule and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

This will buy you some time to decide if you really want to spend your hard-earned time off on this particular activity.

Let me know if you have any other tips worth sharing about how to make this summer a rejuvenating and inspired one!

Good news
A big study in Iceland has added further weight to the benefits of a four-day work week. Increased (or comparable) work output, more time with loved ones, and a higher happiness index – what’s not to love? Spain is about to start their own trial. Stay tuned…

Stronger in five
If health and training is a focus for you this summer, look no further than this five-move workout. You’ll just need a pair of dumbbells that feel “heavy” for you. All the usual caveats apply so be sensible, and remember that when building strength, to give yourself a little extra recovery time. And go!

Friendship benches - coming soon
A recent initiative in Zimbabwe has grandmothers sitting with people dealing with depression on local benches in their community, and the results are overwhelmingly positive. So much so that there’s talk of rolling it out here in the UK. Lifetimes of wisdom being put to amazing work, plus who doesn’t love a chat with gran?

Shower thought
“What if Earth is like one of those uncontacted tribes in South America; like the whole galaxy knows we're here but they've agreed not to contact us until we figure it out for ourselves?”

I really hope so.

Big love and thank you for reading,
Luke X