Recently I had the distinction of being cited as a life-coach expert, in a magazine article on managing work-life pressures, written by Julie Beun, North American Correspondent for Canadian Living and Postmedia, GoodHealth and FirstWord. We always need reminders and tips on how to cope with daily life, but we also need to be reminded of ways to ensure leisure time is the true R & R it’s supposed to be.
Here is how Julie reported our conversation in her article entitled “Turn Off Work, Turn on Vacation Time” published in the June/July issue of FreshJuice Magazine:
De-stress before you go
“People go on holiday and they’re thinking of that one file they didn’t finish,” says Toronto-based life coach Alex Gellman. “Twenty-five to 30 percent of the population can walk out the door. The rest will be haunted by work.” She recommends visualizing a filing cabinet of unfinished work that remains locked until you return.
Don’t be intimidated by your inbox
A mountain of mail and endless emails may trigger post-vacation blues, but don’t let them get you down, says Gellman. “Say to yourself, ‘I’ll tackle 200 a day.’ If you see it as 800 or 1,000 emails, you’ll start producing more cortisol — the stress hormone — again. You don’t renovate a house all at once; you do one room at a time.”
Ease back in
You’re back and refreshed. Your adrenal glands, which govern your stress reactions, are in top form. And according to a Dutch study, if your holiday was “very relaxed,” you’ll feel the benefits for up to two weeks. “Take a day or a weekend to transition,” says Gellman. “You need it to ease back into your busy life.”
Here is a link to the complete article.
