3 Tips to Relax, Recharge, and Start the New Year Strong
We’ve made it through another year! While 2021 was a little more stable than 2020, there were still plenty of challenges we had to overcome and things we had to get done.
All of that work is exhausting. If you’re not careful, you can quickly burn out, leading to reduced productivity, less energy, and a decrease in overall happiness. To avoid that, recharging is essential.
Not sure where to begin? Here are three strategies for relaxing, recharging, and hitting the new year running.
- Celebrate your accomplishments, big and small.
How many times have you thought something like, “time has no meaning anymore” during the pandemic? That’s because we equate our strongest memories with certain milestones. Last year, many milestone events, like weddings and holiday celebrations, were put on hold. While we’ve been able to do more this year, you may still feel like you’ve missed a big moment.
The same can be true for work– if business was slower than you hoped, perhaps you didn’t land a big client or hit a sales goal. Maybe your company put promotions on hold. It may feel like you didn’t hit the “big milestones” at work this year. It’s still important to celebrate the things you did accomplish. Perhaps you earned a new professional certification. Or despite an uncertain year, you still retained your top clients or billed the most on your team.
Everyone is trying to reach some kind of goal. Yours may look different than a colleague’s, but it’s still worth recognizing the steps you took to get you closer.
- Build a “recharge” habit.
We live in a “more is more” world where there’s always more to be done, and seemingly less time to do it all in. To keep from burning out, designate 15 minutes each morning to “recharge.” Read an article you’re interested in, meditate, journal, practice a few yoga poses— whatever helps you center yourself and start the day off positively.
Every morning, I have a calendar invite that says, “meditate and journal.” It’s helpful to have that reminder to keep my daily routine going. Yes, some days I don’t meditate, or a meeting pops up that stops me from journaling during that time. When that happens, I don’t dwell on it and get frustrated. I simply plan to bounce back the next day.
Even better, if you’re able to, take your recharging time outside. You can take a walk or simply read outdoors instead of on the sofa. You’ll clear your mind and get all the benefits of the sunshine, like Vitamin D, boosted energy, and healing various types of inflammation.
- Try new ideas.
One of my favorite ways to recharge is to find new things to incorporate into my day. Just like our individual goals differ, you’ll likely have to experiment to discover what works best for you. Perhaps listening to a podcast is a nice way to relax, or maybe it’s picking up a coloring book and unwinding with a soothing picture.
Here’s something new you can try during the work day: schedule meetings to include recharging time. For example, if you have a typically hour-long meeting, end it after 50 minutes and use that final ten minutes to give people a chance to use the bathroom or stretch their legs. If the meeting is normally 30 minutes, only use 25 minutes for the actual meeting.
Most people want to get up and away from their computer after a meeting, but that’s difficult to do on those days where there are several calls in a row. By incorporating this strategy, you’re accomplishing two things: you’re keeping people more on track during the meeting, and you’re also acknowledging the need for personal time. Your colleagues will certainly thank you.
How do you like to recharge and relax? Share your tips with me in the comments below.