At this time of year the Christmas festivities really begin to consume our lives and it has become an annual well-earned time off period for workers. Everyone looks forward to taking time off and relaxing with family for a few days before jumping into the new year with plenty of enthusiasm.

And this time off is crucial – it’s the one time of the year that it is truly possible to switch off your work phone, log out of your emails and forget your day job. We’re too busy becoming a society that struggles to switch off – I’m talking from experience right now, currently sat on a plane to California to spend Christmas with my partners family and everyone around me is either snoring or tuned into the latest films and I have no intention of truly switching off until Christmas Eve. I’ve discussed this topic numerous times, but it’s the fact that we can now all take our work anywhere, that we’re all taking it everywhere. I can’t remember the last holiday I took where I completely switched off from candidates and clients. But it is so important we do.

If we never take time off to relax and recharge, you’ll most likely burnout eventually and overworking yourself tends to do more harm than good.

Christmas offers you the time to relax, it’s the only time that the majority of workers are all in the same boat, workloads usually comes to a standstill and people are understanding if you’ve taken a couple of extra days – because as cliché as it sounds, Christmas is all about family.

Not only does the Christmas break give you some well needed R&R, it also provides the opportunity to have some breathing space to take a step back and truly reflect on the past year – what were your successes and achievements? What did you learn? What did you not succeed in? What can you take from this year to make next year even better?

So how can we actually switch off without losing the momentum in the office?

1.    Prioritise

If your workload keeps getting in the way of your downtime then prioritise what really needs doing before you start your break – make sure anything urgent is completed, if it can wait, it can wait!

2.    Communicate

Let your clients know when you’re leaving the office, and when you’re returning full time. This way they’ll be no shock to them when their email bounces with your out of office.

3.    Team work

Remember that everyone is in the same boat – you’ll all be working to tight deadlines, and keen to tie up all your loose ends before the year is out so support each other where possible.

If you manage team members, try not to pile your work load onto theirs, you’re all entitled to a break, so it’s crucial everyone gets one.

4. RELAX