The simple habit that helps senior leaders switch off before the break
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
It was 6pm on my last day in a job I was leaving, and I was still shredding documents and filing so the person taking over my role would have good records. At a certain point my boss said to me, "Just leave it. What's undone is undone." I felt terrible leaving things that way, and I vowed to do better next time.
At this time of year, many of us are trying to finish everything so we can enjoy the holidays with a clear conscience. When you lead at a senior level, sit on boards, or like me, run your own business, the to-do list rarely ends.
Leaders who leave loose ends lose the benefit of their break sooner
Decide what you would like to finish before you go on leave, and be realistic about it. Researchers followed 145 office workers through the end-of-year holidays. They found that people who started back at work with fewer unfinished tasks kept the benefits of their holiday for longer.
Having said that, you don't have to finish every task to put it down. In another study, people leaving a task unfinished were asked to take a minute to note where they were up to and what came next. Writing that note helped them stop thinking about the unfinished work, so they could give their full attention to whatever they did next. Before a break, that can mean a holiday where your mind is on the people you're with.
You can put unfinished work down with a short note
Over dinner, I often hear my Dad and my husband, both writers, talk about how they work on a book. They agree it's best to stop while you are still on a roll with an idea and leave yourself a note on what comes next, so you can pick up the momentum when you sit down again. Ernest Hemingway gave the same advice: stop while you still know what will happen next, so it’s easy to start again.
With this in mind, before this break, I'm leaving a short note on each piece of work I can't finish: where it's up to, the next step, anything I've already worked out, and the date I'll pick it up. It works like a bookmark, so I can put the work down knowing exactly where I'll start again.
Preparing this way helps cultivate Adaptive Stability. For many of us, the hardest step is the shift in mindset: accepting that you don't have to finish everything before you go.
If you also leave some room in your last weeks before holidays for the unexpected, you can stay flexible when something comes up, without working late to fit it in. Then you can use the break itself to rest, recover and rebuild your resilience, so you come back steady in the new year.
Here is what I'm trying before this break
Set a date to stop starting. About two weeks out, I stop taking on new work and meetings, and let clients and colleagues know.
Leave a note on everything I can't finish. Each note takes a few minutes, and then I can stop carrying the work in my head.
Plan the holiday tasks too. The presents, food and family arrangements are best done by me, so I'm booking time for them early.
This year I'm getting the important things done first, deciding when enough is enough, and leaving a note on everything else, so I can rest.
What would you need to write down before your break so you can leave your work where it is and truly rest?
