If you’re a follower of all things Plankind reading this from the UK, you’ll know that a glorious Bank Holiday awaits this coming Monday. Said event got this Philosopher-in-Residence thinking: do we bank enough holiday time for ourselves to keep our collective brains and bodies in the best possible physical and mental health?

NB: Banking, or earmarking a holiday doesn’t mean a big budget extravaganza. It doesn’t even have to mean going away.

What it definitely does mean though, is time to disconnect, recharge, step away from non-essential hard grind work and chores and prioritising yourself. I prescribe a selection of remedies if you haven’t done this for far too long…

1. The Short-Time Salve: Keeping the first hour or last hour of the day screen-free and only allowed for restorative activities such as listening to music, reading or exercise.
2. The Medium Medicine: Making one day reserved for things that have been put off/neglected. This could be sorting through drawers, interspersed with watching a favourite movie and doing some yoga.
3. The Relaxing Remedy: Take a week off from the daily grind. How many of the things you feel you have to crawl through on the daily, are actually essential? Could you call in a couple of favours and get friends or relatives to do the school run or weekly shop this week? You could probably put off dealing with emails or life admin til next Monday and book time off from your job. Even if you don’t fork out on an actual trip, the resourcefulness of finding lapsed hobbies and self-care activities for a whole week will not leave you feeling disappointed!

Next fortnight I’ll be writing On Lobbying. I implore you to join our campaign! Please get in touch with any particular aspects of this subject you’d like me to write about.

In the meantime,

Happy Planning

PS If you want some other free tips for your business life, check out the Working Well blog – out fortnightly on Wednesdays, courtesy of Make Me A Plan’s Productivity Expert, Pen Le Kelly. Browse the latest edition here:

https://www.makemeaplan.com/news/building-a-more-inclusive-workplace/