It's Christmas...how will you use the downtime?
As the year winds down and calendars finally begin to open up, many leaders are asking themselves a simple but important question: How will I actually use the downtime over the Christmas period? After months of constant decision-making, meetings, and competing priorities, this rare pause can either slip by unnoticed or become a powerful reset.
For busy executives, effective recovery often comes down to a balance of macro and micro recovery. Macro recovery is the deeper, more intentional kind; taking extended time away from work, being fully present with family and friends, reconnecting with traditions, travel, or simply allowing your nervous system to slow down. Micro recovery happens in smaller, deliberate ways. Morning walks, uninterrupted reading time, journaling, short workouts, or quiet moments before the day begins. These simple rituals can quietly restore energy and mental clarity.
Just as important is being mindful of what can undermine recovery. A common trap for leaders is the temptation to “just do a quick piece of work”. Checking emails, tweaking a slide deck, or solving a problem that feels harmless. In reality, these moments often pull you straight back into work mode, keeping your brain in a heightened state and preventing real disengagement. Over-scheduling social commitments, excessive screen time, poor sleep habits, or using the break to “catch up” rather than slow down can have a similar effect.
Other approaches that resonate strongly with executives include reflecting without pressure. Reviewing the year with curiosity instead of critique, noting patterns, lessons, and moments of pride. Creating intentional white space is also powerful. Resisting the urge to optimise every hour allows room for creativity, insight, and perspective to re-emerge. For some, reconnecting with purpose, through meaningful conversations, mentoring, or giving back can be deeply restorative.
It doesn't have to be a long period, for some it could be 2 weeks (delighted for you if it is!), for others a much shorter period. Most importantly, it's about making the most of the downtime that you have.
Ultimately, the Christmas period isn’t just about switching off, it’s about recovering forward. By protecting this time, setting boundaries with work, and being intentional about how energy is restored, leaders return not only refreshed, but better equipped for the complexity and pace that awaits in the year ahead.