‘Tis the season! Can you believe it’s already Christmas? I’m sure everyone has many plans over this Christmas break, and I hope you are having a wonderful time with your loved ones.

Isn’t Christmas one of the busiest times of year for you as you have social events, family gathering to parties at work, and let’s not forget, Christmas shopping for everyone’s gifts.

All the work, family life and social relationships keep us busy, and we might not realise how time flies. Then all of the sudden, we hit the end of year already!

While it’s very exciting with all the family gatherings and Christmas parties, this is also a great time to reflect on your journey and see if you’ve achieved all the goals you’ve set out for the year. Before you make the next excuse, ask yourself this: What can I do to improve?

Reflection is always important because how else will you know what your next step should be.

Another thing to keep in mind over the holidays is to work on your hobbies, and if you have none, why not start now? Personal development isn’t only about the way you work personally but also the other things that you do in your daily life. Take time to focus on things that you are interested in and haven’t had the chance to explore yet. It’s the same as telling a school student to focus on extra-curricular activities and not just the academic achievements.

Here are some tips on ensuring your end of year holiday is spent to its full potential:

1) Reflection and Celebration

As a business owner or professional in your space, we always prioritise our business or career as it’s like our baby, something we have worked hard on. So, think about how to work smarter and not harder in the upcoming year and reflect back on the goals you have set out in 2019 and the processes you have taken to achieve it. And of course, if you were able to, celebrate it! Who better to celebrate with than your loved ones around you.

2) Try something new

Hopefully you’ve all got hobbies that you’ve been waiting for some time off to pursue, and here it is! Now you’ve got the time to spend on everything you love doing outside of the office, whether it’s including some time alone or with your family and friends. Now it’s also the perfect time to try new things that you haven’t before. Remember hobbies are statistically better for your mental health and that’s one way to improve yourself for the new year.

3) Give back whenever you can

There’s nothing more fulfilling than giving back to those that may not have the same opportunities as us over the holiday season. Some aren’t as fortunate as we are over the festive season and this can be as simple as donating or helping out others in need. This will be a good way to end the year and start afresh in 2020. We want to share love and care so people in needs can enjoy a better Christmas, that’s why last weekend, our team joined the Melbourne Basket Brigade. Any random act of kindness like smiling at strangers or being there to listen to someone when they need it or even donating anything small to people who need it is something to take on not only at this time of year but always. These small changes make a big difference to others.

Remember it’s not being selfish to do what you can to improve yourself over the holidays, you want to be able to get in the flow and start the new year in the best way you can. I hope everyone is safe and having a very Merry Christmas!!