#212 The 2-Week Christmas Wind-Down Protocol: How I Log Off Without Guilt (So I Return to Zero Emergencies, Not Chaos!)

Lucy Gernon (00:06.766)

Do you ever find yourself in the room up to Christmas feeling like you’re a bit frantic? You’re trying to finish everything up, just one more thing before you log off. You might be exhausted and instead of enjoying the festive season, the buildup, you’re actually trying to be everything to everyone. And instead of winding down, you’re actually completely wound up. Sound familiar? Here’s the truth. Most women in senior leadership don’t really enjoy this buildup, right? But what I really want to give you today is my two week shutdown for Christmas protocol. Now I promise,

 

that when I was in corporate, I used to use this religiously and I always had a really smooth December. I run a really, really busy team, a really busy area and it works without fail every time. And not only that, I’ve shared it with my 360Liters Club members and my own clients as well. And it works like a charm. So I have decided to give this to you today on the podcast. So I really hope that you enjoy. Let’s get into it.

 

Lucy Gernon (01:00.718)

Hi there and welcome back to another episode of the 360 Leadership Podcast. We are coming towards the end of 2026. Super exciting. I’m Lucy Gernon. In case you don’t know, I’m an award winning executive coach and host of this podcast that I’ve been doing for the last, I think it’s like four years almost now. Like it is crazy. And I really want to talk to you about something today. So when I was in corporate, I used to watch my colleagues every December.

 

frantic, running around like headless chickens, saying yes to everything, trying to close off all their projects, stress out of their minds, trying to get everything closed out. And it’s the same, right? Like a lot of us can be like that. And then come January, they would be coming back, worrying about this and exhausted, overwhelmed, because there might be emails for things that have happened over the Christmas season and basically needing a holiday from their holiday, right? But I always had a system which I had been perfecting for years.

 

And I remember one December, was probably about, I’d say about seven or eight years ago, my boss actually said to me, he was like, how was everything in uncontrolled? How are you so calm? Everyone else is, you know, trying to close everything out and you’re here, it’s grand, it’s sorted, what’s your secret? And I realized that I actually had developed this strategic protocol without even thinking about it. It’s just how I operate it. So two weeks before Christmas, even before that, I would have done other things. But in the last two weeks for Christmas,

 

I’d really start my process. So by the time I logged off, everything was handled, delegated, sorted, team were clear. No stress, no guilt, no checking emails on Christmas day, no Christmas week thinking about work. was always under control. So I could actually switch off, enjoy the lead up to Christmas, actually spend time with my team. We used to have an end of year celebration party and be present. And really not give a single thought to work until January.

 

And then when I started coaching, I kept seeing women make the same mistakes that my colleagues, some of my colleagues used to make, which was literally working themselves right into the ground until Christmas Eve, some of them, and then spending their entire break anxious about what might happen or what might pile up. So I thought, right, let me just put my system into an actual checklist, a proper protocol that you can tick, tick, tick and follow, because what worked for me in corporate can absolutely work for you. And it works for lots of my clients, too.

 

Lucy Gernon (03:22.264)

And that’s exactly what I’m gonna be sharing with you today. Now, if you want a physical checklist, I’m going to be giving this to my email subscribers exclusively this week. So if you would like to get your hands on that checklist, all you’ve got to do is go to lucygarden.com forward slash newsletter, and we will send it out to you. It would be great for you to actually have it physically printed instead of trying to remember. So definitely go over and subscribe to my newsletter and you will get that.

 

So let’s talk about, before we get into the protocol, let’s talk about why you can’t switch off or why you can’t enjoy the buildup. Because I see this with lots of my clients. You’re telling yourself, I just need to clear a few more things. They might need me while I’m off or what if something urgent comes up or if I don’t get this done now, it’s going to be waiting for me in January. And you might even be thinking, right, I might just check in on emails over the Christmas break. But here’s what’s really happening.

 

And I used to see this all of the time. You’ve tied your self-worth to your availability. And you may think being a good leader means you’re always available and always on. And deep down, that bit is uncomfortable. You’re a tiny bit afraid about what happens if they actually can cope fine without you. I had, there was an amazing leader I worked with once. She was a director and she was actually on holidays in, where was she? I think she was in Spain.

 

And one of her team members told me when we got back that she was on Teams the entire time she was away. She was messaging and I was like, this woman’s on holidays. And when her team asked her, like, what are you doing online? She was like, oh, I’m just making sure everything’s OK. Like everything was fine. It always was. But she just couldn’t help herself. And that’s when I realized how different my approach was, because I never really had that anxiety, even though

 

For many years, I ran a very busy microbiology lab, which basically supported a sterile manufacturing site. was team members going in X, Y and Z. And while I absolutely was available for emergencies, I defined what those emergencies was. And there was only one Christmas I ever got a call. was a big event, let’s just say, that warranted a phone call. But other than that, nobody ever contacted me. And I trusted my team, right? I trusted them because…

 

Lucy Gernon (05:48.237)

I’d set up everything, boundaries, guidelines, what if this happens, what do I do? We thought through everything and my wind down protocol meant that I could actually trust everything was handled. So that’s the power of having a proper system because rest shouldn’t be something you earn. It’s something you protect with structures, frameworks, being strategic, thinking about what my…

 

you might need before it happens and proper planning. So let me show you exactly how I did it. And if you want to go and grab the checklist, just go to lucigarron.com forward slash newsletter, pause this and come back and I will walk you through what each of the steps means. OK, we can actually do it together. OK, so here’s the exact protocol. Two weeks before, so that’s right about now, I would brain dump. everything into my head went on to paper, every project.

 

every continuous improvement, every expense receipt that I hadn’t submitted yet because I put on the long finger, every outstanding query that was like niggling at me, every, I probably should do this. I just got all of it out of my head and onto a list. Now, back then we didn’t have AI. So with AI, it’s so much easier for you now. You can literally just brain dump into ChatDBT.

 

In 360, we have our 360 GPT, which is built with all of my knowledge on my tools and my frameworks. So the girls are able to use that for that. Then I use to sort my chaotic long list into what I call the more time prioritization matrix. And that’s what you can get that in my work life balance guide. If you go to lucygarden.com forward slash balance, you can grab that there.

 

And this will help you to see what’s genuinely urgent versus what just feels urgent because everyone’s running around like it’s the apocalypse. There’s a big difference. But here’s my rule and here’s the rule I invite you to apply from today. Delegate early.

 

Lucy Gernon (07:51.407)

Not on the 20th of December when everyone’s already mentally gone. Two weeks before, I’d have clear handover conversations. And, you know, if your team is operating while you are off over Christmas, as some of you will, some of you won’t. If that is the case, you need to tell your team, right, well, I’m away. This is yours. And this is exactly what you can decide without me. I give them decision rights. And I communicate my dates clearly, not just to my team, but to

 

Any stakeholders who may need me or my team or my department. So that will be communicated well in advance. So nobody could come back and say, oh, we didn’t know or this, that and the other or escalating that Lucy’s not available. It’s about making sure that they got the message to not just an email. Right. So it’s actually confirming with your key stakeholders that they know when you’re not around. Give them your dates. Finishing on 20th of December, back 6th of January. Won’t be on emails. No maybes. But if there’s an emergency.

 

You know, you might have to put in your number if that’s protocol, but I would really challenge you on that. I would really challenge you on that. Set up an escalation plan, right? Who makes the decisions? What’s actually an emergency? If you want to take notes or go grab the checklist, lucygarn.com forward slash newsletter. In all my years in corporate and we were running a busy manufacturing site, you know how many true emergencies actually happened over Christmas? I think there was like one.

 

I was there for like 12 years. But you still need to have a plan so people feel secure. And here’s the brilliant thing is you what you can do now is you can book your January meetings now before you leave. So if you need a team debrief, if you want to want ones, applying sessions, get it all in the diary so that you’re not coming back to chaos, you’re coming back to actually having the time in place for what you need for January. So it’s about getting really strategic about

 

what projects you’re going to pick up in January, what debriefs are needed and actually get them in the diary this week. Okay. And in the checklist, you can check, check, check all these actions off. Okay. So one week before then, which is next week-ish, this is when I would run what I call my Christmas handover meeting. Not just the, here’s what needs to be done, but a proper empowerment. You own this, you can make decisions, following up with stakeholders to make sure.

 

Lucy Gernon (10:09.708)

you know, that they had what they needed, that there was going to be no surprises, that this department is not available. It’s really about what I call the two steps ahead rule. So you need to be two steps ahead of who may need you, early as possible, and try and pull that information or that work from them so that nothing lands on your desk Christmas week and also so that you don’t come back to a pile afterwards. OK.

 

Like my out of office was always crystal clear. There was no like I’ll be checking emails intermittently. It just that encourages people to try their luck. And like I said, I hate when people give out their mobile number like. Really, like there has to be a better business process for you. And mine used to say, you know, I’m on annual leave for urgent matters, contact whoever was my designee, and usually they would have been a level below me.

 

If I was off and if they were actually supposed to be on, you we always had a process in place. It’s up to you and your business and everyone is going to be different. But where you can, please just try and allow yourself to have this time done, professional clear, no room for confusion. And always, always, always another task was always thank your key stakeholders before you leave. Not just your boss and the obvious ones, but really think about.

 

you know, who were the maybe executive assistants or admin people or training support that supported you? Who were the events people? Who were the cleaners who were, you know, thank them a little quick email or even a handwritten card is even better. Thanking them for their support. It doesn’t take long and will build a massive goodwill for January. OK, so now we’re at three days before you log off. This is where you’ve got to get super ruthless.

 

Look at your to-do list and ask, OK, what actually needs to be done? That report that would be nice to finish? January. That meeting that could wait? Cancelled. And I would always send what I call a confidence email to my team, really encouraging them saying, guys, you’ve got this. I trust you. Have a brilliant Christmas. You know, I know you get to your in in. look after you in January. Like we always did things for people who had to work over Christmas and I’ll see you in the New Year.

 

Lucy Gernon (12:24.364)

And you’ll be amazed how people step up when you show that you actually believe in them. And then crucial notifications off, delete teams off your phone. If you have to check in, can maybe uninstall it and reinstall it just to check, you know, if you absolutely have to, depending on your business, right? I’m not going to say every business is same, but give yourself boundaries so it’s not as easy for you to get into this like.

 

LinkedIn, Instagram, Teams, whatever other apps you religiously cam up, 360 app, whatever you go into, right? Get it off your phone to break that pattern. And I remember my boss asked me once, he was like, what if something urgent happens? I said, if the building’s on fire, I’m going to know about it, right? I’m going to know about it. So do not worry. Somebody can WhatsApp me. I always had that in place as well. So the last working day then.

 

And again, on this checklist, these all sounds so obvious. But if you forget any of these, this is what is going to cause you stress and may end up, you you’re working late on Christmas is on the last working day. Just keep it simple, right? Just proper. Thank you to your team. Don’t, you know, rush out the door, but like take time to appreciate the people who supported you heartfelt. Always, always used to clear my desk, clear my inbox, any of those niggly bits like receipts. And I just

 

couldn’t bring them into 2026. So that was always a priority for me. That was just me. I don’t know if it’s a priority for you. Definitely make sure those expenses and all are done because I want you to come back to calm feeling like you’re clear, not chaos. And there’s nothing worse than open your emails in January to like 47 open tabs from December. Close it all down and then log off on intention. Not logging off at seven o’clock, still stressed, but making a powerful decision.

 

I’ve done enough. Everything’s handled. I’m switching off. And then allow yourself to have your protocol. Enact itself. Your team have got this if they are on over Christmas. And then the first week back. So this is where a lot of people mess up. They come flying back full throttle and wonder why they’re exhausted by the 10th of January. I always gave myself buffer time that first day back. the first morning where I check in with my team in the morning and then I would have a good three to four hour strategic block.

 

Lucy Gernon (14:47.726)

time to really check in to get my bearings to see what actually happened while I was away and to start planning, really start getting intentional around the plans. And unfortunately, the site I worked in, didn’t use to set the company priorities until March, which is I just don’t get that because you’re missing the trick with the new year, new me energy majorly. So I didn’t wait for that. I would have started on anything I wanted to start on and give my team direction.

 

And then I’d run a team debrief on over the Christmas period, if anything did happen, who worked, what worked, what didn’t work, what decisions did they make? And that’s gold dust for developing your team and your own leadership. And I always used to try and plan something nice for January. January is a tough month. So is there something that you could do, whether that’s just a little cake or, you know, something fun, donuts or, you know, don’t be the leader who brings some light. Maybe let them finish.

 

early on a Friday, something that actually works. They’ll pay you dividends. And so as simple as all these things sound, right. It’s not just about having a nice Christmas, though that’s important. It’s actually about you modeling leadership. It’s when you show your team that you can switch off, you give them permission to do the same and it builds trust and, you know.

 

There’s very few emergencies that actually need senior leaders to be there unless there’s absolute catastrophe. And when you empower people and then actually leave them to it, they grow. So some of my best team members develop because I gave them space to lead while I was away. Did they do it exactly how I would have? No, they didn’t. But did the job get done? Yes. So it sets you up success for January. And instead of starting the new year feeling behind its stress, you’ll start fresh, strategic.

 

ready to lead and most importantly, you won’t be stressed Christmas week. You’ll get to actually enjoy, you know, the Christmas lights and decorating your house, finishing touches if that’s what you’re into, if you celebrate Christmas. So.

 

Lucy Gernon (16:54.13)

One of my members, I’m just thinking back, she implemented my summer checklist, which is very, very, very similar. A lot of them love it. She’s a VP in a multinational, this lady, and then another lady also used it, who’s a managing director in a small to medium enterprise in the UK. And she told me, she said, Lucy, my team actually thanked me for this. They said that knowing that she had everything sorted before meant they could relax.

 

They had a clear plan. They knew their boundaries, decision rights, the whole lot. I changed the whole dynamic. So that’s what proper leadership looks like. Now, I know I’ve just given you a lot of information and you’re probably thinking, Lucy, I really need to write this down. So like I said, I’ve taken my protocol. I the one I perfected over the years was more steps in it than what I’ve just shared in the podcast. A couple of extra ones that you absolutely need to take. I turned it into like an actual checklist, like side note. Is it just me or do we love a good check?

 

I love a good checklist. Chick, chick, chick, chick, chick. It’s the two week Christmas wind down checklist. So I’ve got it all in there. You can literally have everything. It’s my Christmas gift to you. And all you’ve got to do is head over to lucygarren.com forward slash newsletter. And I will be sending it out with this week’s newsletter every Sunday at 830. I send out tools, strategies, support. Sometimes I send free resources like this to help women in leadership. It’s exclusively for women to lead with confidence, live with balance and

 

When you sign up, you’re going to get the checklist and you’ll get my emails too, because you really deserve to switch over over Christmas. You deserve to enjoy the wind up to Christmas. And I get it feels can feel scary to disconnect fully, especially if everyone around you is running around stressed. But here’s the thing. You you don’t need to do Christmas like everyone else. You don’t need to buy into that frantic energy Christmas week. You don’t have to check your emails on New Year’s Eve. You can do it differently.

 

You can be calm, organized and allow yourself the gift to switch off. Because don’t finish this year in a sprint, my dear. Finish it as you’re the marathon runner. You do not need to speed up the pace too much. You’re already far ahead. And yeah, I hope it really works for you. So grab the checklist at lucygern.com forward slash newsletter, implement it, let me know if it helped because you deserve the rest. You deserve to enjoy Christmas. Your family deserves the present relaxed version of you. And honestly,

 

Lucy Gernon (19:14.562)

Your team deserves a leader who knows how to model healthy boundaries. So that is it for this week. I will see you next week where I am going to be talking about something that I think you are going to want to reference again and again. And it is how to handle a dominant colleague. So tensions are going to be rising around Christmas time, but this will be applicable for any time of the year. Do not miss next week’s episode. It’s going to be a good one. I’m going to give you tools and strategies that really going to help you.

 

So come back again next week, same time, same place. Bye for now.