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Welcome to the 360 leadership podcast, the top rated show for driven women in senior leadership with new episodes released every Wednesday. I’m your host, Lucy Gernon, a multi award winning executive coach for women leaders and the founder of 360. Leaders Club exclusive high level membership for career driven family orientated women just like you. I created the 360 leadership podcast to share practical tips, actionable step by step strategies and inspiring stories to support you to unlock the power and belief within to accelerate your impact and potential. So you can build a life filled with success, balance and happiness. So are you ready to achieve 360 degree success? No more excuses. No more waiting. Your time is now. Welcome back to the 360 leadership podcast. I’m your host, Lucy Garnon, multi award winning executive coach and CEO and founder of 360. Leaders Club, which is the ultimate high level membership for women in leadership who wants to have it all? Can you believe we are almost at year end, I cannot even deal that it’s Christmas time. It is my probably one of my favorite times of the year. I’m so torn. I love all the seasons. I love them all for different reasons. But Christmas is so special because I’m such a family person. Now if you’re not into Christmas, that is totally cool, too. Okay, don’t ever feel under pressure. I know some people really don’t like Christmas for certain reasons. But for me, I absolutely love it. There’s, you know, I love cooking. I love having my family over. I love visiting family. I love having my gorgeous candles, lighting. I love Christmas movies. I just love it so much. But before we can get to that before we can get to the champagne. And before we can get the turkey and ham. We’ve got to finish work, right. And when I was thinking about what podcast I could record for you this week that might be supportive. I thought why not share 10 things that I do every year before I log off for Christmas. Because sometimes it’s nice just to have a little checklist right? So you don’t have to think so allow me to support you today. I’ve done all of the thinking for you. And in today’s episode, it’s going to be a short one, I’m just sharing your free checklist, which is 10 Must do tasks before you log off for your Christmas break. So whenever you’re ready, you can listen in and you can take some notes or if you go to the website, you will see a link below in the show notes, you will see the 10 things there anyway for yourself. So point number one, Christmas is stressful. And I know at the end of the year, it was a lot going on. Okay, you are trying to hit those last minute targets, you’re trying to close out everything so that you can come back in January, your team or everyone is tired, everyone wants to just finish for Christmas, there is a mountain of paperwork you need to get through and it can feel a little bit overwhelming, right? Rest assured point number one is going to help you and that one is prioritize your workload. Now, I know that sounds basic, but when we get into the weeds, sometimes it’s like, we can have so many tasks floating around in our head, we can be really trying to set ourselves up for failure. So what we need to do is we need to prioritize our workload, because you want to enjoy the lead up to Christmas, it does not have to be as stressful. So what I recommend that you do, and what I do myself is create a master to do list, okay? Literally, I call it like a brain dump to do this. So get a pen, pen and paper or put on your music, whatever, make it feel good. And literally just vomit out everything out of your mind onto a piece of paper, from the small things to the bad things. And this can be prioritized and your workload where you can also include things in here, like your Christmas shopping, and anything that you need to do to prepare for Christmas itself too. Because what we don’t want is you on Christmas Eve, you know, in a panic forgetting things. So my invitation for you is to book literally 30 minutes all it’s going to take Max, it’s not even going to take that was book 30 minutes within 24 hours of listening to this episode. And prioritize Okay, so you’re going to brain dump, write everything out. And then what you want to do is you want to identify those critical tasks. Now, if you’re multitasking, come back to me. If you’re anything like me, sometimes I set myself up for failure. I have so many things on my list and then I go Why didn’t I get these done? And it’s because I wasn’t being realistic with what was achievable. So my invitation for you is to prioritize the tasks based on criticality. And if you need a tool, I have a prioritization matrix I call the more time prioritization matrix which you can grab on my website, it’s in the work life free work life balance guide. So if you just go to Lucy garden.com, you’ll see a free resources tab, click there, and you will see the work life balance guide in there, you’re going to find a really valuable tool to support you to prioritize when you’re doing this, okay? So you want to identify those critical tasks, and you want to just focus on them, okay? Don’t be greedy. And when I say that, I mean, sometimes I’m greedy. And I’m like, oh, I want to get more done. Nope, we want to just focus on what’s critical. But also, you want to also put in those sneaky little small tasks that you’ve been procrastinating on that, you know, are driving you mental. For example, with me, it’s always financial stuff, I cannot stand anything to do with finances, which is why I have an accountant and a bookkeeper. But obviously, as CEO, I kind of need to know what’s going on in my finances. So the likes of that you have got to do because what you don’t want to do is bring in any crap from this year into next year, right. So prioritize what’s going to move the needle the most in terms of the business. I remember, I had a client last year at Christmas, and she was trying to get this particular report closed out. But it wasn’t really necessary. It was kind of like a report, nobody really cared about. And she was putting herself under all this pressure to get it done, when no one was ever really going to ask for it. So in the end, she kind of realized, listen, it doesn’t actually have to be done. So I’m actually better off focusing on all these this paperwork on my desk instead. So just challenge yourself when you’re prioritizing to Okay, the second thing that you need to do before you finish your work is to prioritize your team’s tasks. So this is this is where you’re like, everyone just wants to finish for Christmas, everyone is tired. And this is where the lines can get blurred. So make sure your team are crystal clear on the priorities and the goals for this week. So what is the result you expect them to create? Before you finish for Christmas? So one thing I always teach when I do my corporate talks is we want to shift away from to do lists thinking to results focus thinking, okay, so What results do you want them to create? What are the priorities? What is the deliverable? What’s the expectation at the end of this week, this Friday, and then at the end of next week, which is obviously before Christmas week, okay? So do not make any assumptions that they know. just clarify with them, ask them, what are your priorities, I just want to make sure we’re all aligned. And that will give you an opportunity then to rebalance with them, too. Okay. The third thing, then,
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is clear communication. Okay, so this is so important. You want to start setting expectations right now and notifying others of your availability during the break. And when you’re back for Christmas. Okay. One thing I absolutely think is so unprofessional and so rude is when you’re working with a peer or a colleague, and they finish it up early for Christmas. And they haven’t told anyone I and they just expect people to know, I really do not think that’s cool. I think that’s really unprofessional. So my invitation for you is let anyone know your key stakeholders know what date you’re finished up. And I always say use the two steps ahead rule. If you’re multitasking, come back to me, I’m going to tell you what it is. Use the two steps ahead rule, which is you need to be two steps ahead of all of your key stakeholders. So you need to be thinking today. What do other people need from me? What could possibly be coming across my desk? What email might I be receiving in the next couple of days? What project is ongoing in the background that I haven’t heard much about in the last little while, you need to be using that rule. Because what you’re going to do then is you’re going to pull the information. So this is the week today’s the day okay to reach out to your key stakeholders on get an update on where things are at Do not wait until next week because people are going to start wrapping up projects late and I do not want to sit in there when you’re supposed to be gone. Gone Home driving home for Christmas with Chris Murray in the background. Okay. So you want to communicate with people. You want to set the scene for January to as to when you’re back on, you want to set your boundaries around I suppose your availability over Christmas, okay. The fourth thing then is this is where delegation and collaboration comes in. So I’ve spoken to you about the two steps ahead rule and prioritization, but it’s really, really important right now that everyone is just looking to finish up, everyone is tired. So it’s more important than ever now not to work in silos, and to work together as a team so that you can lighten each other’s workload. It’s like be dynamic and to support one Another truth is period. And if you’re listening to this episode, go send this onto your team or go send this on to your female leader colleagues. And then you could all go through these tasks together. And imagine how much easier it would be if everybody did this, okay? You want to have a smooth transition. So just delegate what you need to delegate so you can get your priorities done. And make sure that you’re being collaborative and encouraging your team, by the way to do the same thing to the fifth thing that I invite you to do before you log off or Christmas is to say, thank you. Don’t forget to thank people, this is a really powerful time to send a personalized note or a card or an email to those, those key stakeholders with genuine gratitude for everything they’ve done this year. And this may take some time for you to do this. But when you do, you’re gonna make people feel special. How many people actually send an email of tanks, like very few, but yet when we get them, they’re memorable. So tank, your team members, if you can send an individual message to everybody write a card, if you want to do a little gift, do a little gift, whatever works for you. But just please make those people who have been there for you feel good as they finish up. Okay? The sixth thing then I invite you to do before you finish up for Christmas is obviously to set your out of office message. Now, I always recommend that you this is a really nice opportunity to use your personality, it’s also a nice opportunity to add nice little note. So many people will just put a one liner and say I’m out of office until the second of January, I’ll respond in your return. Like you’re gonna get that same email from everyone. So how about you think of something more original? How about you include something about when you’re back, but also maybe share something you’ve learned this year. Or maybe you could share an inspiring quote. Or maybe you could share something a powerful message because if you’re a leader, people are looking up to you. And this is a really nice opportunity for you to stand out above everybody else, because everyone else was just going to do those vanilla messages, vanilla, as my friend Lucy calls them. So that’s the sixth one. The Seventh One, then we have a couple more to go we have 10 is to clean up your inbox, clean up your mailbox. I love December because it’s like a cleanse for me, I always think right, I’m going to, you know cleanse from this year. So I can start 2024 on the right note. So set rules, set email rules, Delegate anything that’s in your inbox, it’s been sitting there or delete it. Or you might consider starting an archive folder for you literally, I used to do that used to give me so much satisfaction. Set up a folder. If you’re on Outlook. I don’t use it anymore, but I know they used to. I used to do this. But if you use Outlook, you can just set up an archive folder, literally highlight all of your emails and move them into the archive folder. Like how good would that feel, to move all of your emails from 2023 into a folder. They’re not deleted, they’re not gone anywhere. They’re just not going to be in your inbox when you come back. What’s really important then is that you take the time so that when you do come back in January, your inbox is nice and fresh. You want to unsubscribe from anything that you don’t want your inbox just don’t unsubscribe from my email list. Get rid of junk mail again, unsubscribe or you can set rules, like I said a second ago where certain emails from certain senders go into certain folders. Okay, so that’s my invitation for you is take some time to clean up the inbox, it’s a bit of a pain in the butt, put on some Christmas music, your future self will thank you in January. Number eight then is to get rid of old paperwork and notes. Again, if you’re anything like me, I brutal for having little poles sits on my desk and pieces of paper stuck in the back of my diary and journals and random bits around my office and invoices and like all this stuff that just kind of clogs things up. It’s a really good opportunity for you to just, you know, get rid of all of that in your desk and make it nice because when you come back in January, whether you’re in the office at home, or whether you go to work, it’s just nice to know that you’re starting on a fresh slate, isn’t it? That leads me on nicely to number nine which is to tidy your office. So if you have a home office or you have your own office, this is a really nice time to make it nice. So I will always give it a really good spring clean. Like I said get rid of the paperwork. I’ll get rid of old candles because I love have candles. I tidy up my books, get rid of some books, donate them to charity. If you have a whiteboard in your office, clean it really well, you know, get that like whiteboard, spray and give it a really good, clean, and just make everything like fresh and shiny and new so that when you come back in January, you’re just going to feel like you’re starting afresh, you’re going to feel like you’re starting again, which I always love. And then finally, the 10th thing that I invite you to do before you finish up for Christmas, is to journal. So let’s to take some time to reflect on 2023. And I’m going to give you just four questions for questions that you can answer during this reflective session. So if you’re multitasking, come back to me. The first question I invite you to reflect on is what worked really well this year. So what processes worked really well, what people supported you? What decisions did you make that they work really well? How, you know, how did you come to that decision? Have a really good think about those key moments that stand out? That worked well? And then you want to double down on those next year? Okay, we want to double down on what’s working? Well. The second question I invite you to look at is did you achieve your goals? So first of all, did you even have goals? Did you even have goals? I hope you did for yourself. But if you didn’t, that’s okay. Did you achieve your goals? And if you didn’t, well, now is the time to set goals for next year. Okay, we want to be setting goals. And I’ll be doing a goal setting exercise or episode with you over Christmas time. So definitely keep your eyes out for that. If you didn’t achieve your goals, like walk out in your way, so it’s really important, please do not skip this reflective work is is the key to moving forward. Okay. Then you want to be looking at what didn’t work so well. So What decisions did you make that didn’t work out? Why didn’t they work out? What processes did you implement that didn’t work? Well, problems showed up over and over again, what relationships didn’t work, I just want you to think about what didn’t work without judgment, because life is not perfect. And for every time something works, you have something that doesn’t. So it’s just about being curious with yourself and understanding what worked and what didn’t. And then finally, once you’ve done the reflective work, this is just a high level. Okay,
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what needs to change next year? Like what are three big things that you need to change next year, that’s going to take you closer to your ultimate goals, whether that’s a promotion, whether it’s better balance, whether it’s retiring early, whatever, those big goals, you have our What do you need to change next year? And what do you need to double down on next year? So that is it. That is the 10 things I know there’s a lot it sounds like there’s a lot in there, which is why I’m giving it to you this week. Hopefully you can still have time this weekend next week to exercise some of these. I’m going to run through them real quick. But when you go on the shownotes, you will see the you’ll see the tenants in here anyway. And wherever you’re listening to this podcast, the show notes will be linked whether it’s on Spotify, Apple, Amazon music, or even if you’re listening to on the web player on my website. So the 10 things real quick. Number one, prioritize your workload. Number two, prioritize your team’s workload. Ask them what their priorities are and clarify if needed. Number three, be clear on your communication. Okay, set expectations. Tell people when you’re available, and use that two steps ahead. Rule number four, delegate and collaborate. This is the time for teamwork. Okay, this is the time for teamwork. Number five thank yous, do not forget to say thank you to those who supported you. Number six, set your out of office message on use it to say something that you want to say use it to inspire others. Oh, and a bonus tip. Do not give your mobile for important things because No, just please don’t do that unless you absolutely have to. Unless you’ve been specifically asked to unless you’re running something that’s like critical. Like people who need you have your mobile Okay, people who need you have your mobile do not give out your mobile number. Number seven, clean up your inbox, set your rules, delegate, archive, unsubscribe, set up your folders, and all of that good stuff. Number eight, get rid of your old paperwork and your notes. Look in those journals, get rid of old refill pods get rid get rid get rid number nine, tidy your office, clean your whiteboard, get it all really nice and shiny. And then number 10. You’ve all of that done, sit down in your lobby clean office and do some journaling and just reflect on what worked in 2023. What didn’t work and what you need to change next year. So there we are, again, another episode done and dusted. I really really hope that this has been fun. We will for you this week. If you have found this episode helpful, I’d really appreciate that you would share this episode with your colleagues and your team because imagine if everyone did this, how much easier and stress free Christmas would be the lead up to Christmas and work I mean, and don’t forget, you can grab that free work life balance guide to which contains the prioritization matrix and lots of other tools. If you go to my website, Lucy garnon.com You will see a free resources tab and in there you will see the work life balance guide and tons of other resources to support you in there too. So until next week, I hope you enjoy work for the rest of the week. I hope you you know things are going well and that you get you know, just remember Christmas is coming and you’ve done so much hard work this year. Be compassionate with yourself. Be compassionate with your team, be thankful and just get in the Christmas spirit. Why not? So until next week, be safe be well and I will talk to you again soon. Bye for now.
