Here are 10 ways to relax and recharge over the festive period without losing career momentum. It blends rest with light learning to reduce stress. Use these great ideas to reset, reflect, and return ready ...
10 ways to relax and recharge, Meditate, breathe deep, Nature's embrace, soothes
The festive period can press pause on plans and amplify noise, so identifying ways to relax and recharge becomes both strategic and kind. It is the moment to protect rest as a priority, rebuild attention, and make calm decisions that support career momentum without forcing productivity.
Relaxation and recharging are not luxuries; they are the conditions for clear thinking and better choices!
Many people feel the festive season magnifies money worries and job-seeking frustration, and that tension can spill over into January. Owning the rhythm of the fortnight ahead means choosing intentional downtime, with small, high‑yield learning. The aim is to Reduce Stress, preserve energy, and widen options without burning the holiday on busywork.
I would recommend designing a simple plan: two-thirds rest, one-third gentle development. That balance safeguards capacity, prevents decision fatigue, and ensures you return with direction. Below are 10 ways to relax and recharge that combine comfort with incremental gains.
Micro‑retreat mornings - Set aside three mornings for quiet coffee, a walk, and 30 minutes of reflective journalling on wins, lessons, and values. This resets attention, lowers mental noise, and aligns choices with what matters next, creating Relaxation and a steady Recharge without rigid schedules.
Phone‑free afternoons - Choose two afternoons with devices on aeroplane mode. Read a novel, nap, or cook something slow. Removing digital inputs reduces cortisol spikes, helping the nervous system reduce stress and restore high‑quality focus for January job moves during the festive season.
Nature reset - Walk in a local park, woodland, or alongside water for at least 45 minutes, three times. Exposure to green space improves mood and executive function, protecting career momentum by keeping thinking spacious and future‑oriented while remaining calm and grounded.
Gentle skill sprints - Pick one micro‑course or a targeted tutorial and limit it to 60–90 minutes total. Keep it light, such as a spreadsheet shortcut set or CV achievement phrasing. The small gain compounds confidence and supports your recharge without draining your holiday bandwidth.
Financial peace hour - Schedule a single hour to review spending, direct debits, and any upcoming job‑search costs in Pound Sterling terms. Clarifying cash flow reduces ambiguity, helps reduce stress, and stops money worries from overshadowing the festive season, which preserves mental capacity for decisions.
Connection with intent - Invite two people for short, relaxed catch‑ups: one friend for joy, one professional contact for perspective. Keep it human, not transactional. This sustains energy, opens serendipity, and maintains career momentum without formal networking pressure.
Sleep upgrade experiment - Commit to a consistent bedtime and a 20‑minute wind‑down routine: stretch, warm shower, dim lights, no screens. Better sleep quality accelerates physical and cognitive recharge, making January planning faster, clearer, and more resilient.
Curated content diet - Select a small, high‑quality set: one podcast episode, one long‑form article, one book chapter. Avoid endless scrolling. Controlled inputs improve signal‑to‑noise ratio, reduce stress, and keep the festive season reflective rather than reactive.
Home spa ritual - Create a simple ritual twice: bath or hot shower, candle, calming playlist, moisturiser, comfortable clothes, and herbal tea. When the body relaxes, the mind follows, and relaxation enables better judgment, protecting career momentum with steadier emotions.
Vision, not pressure - Sketch a one‑page plan with three themes: what to stop, start, and continue next quarter. No deadlines, no perfection. This turns vague hope into direction, sustaining your recharge while removing the anxiety of over‑planning.
The festive season rewards those who protect calm as a skill, not just a mood, because a rested mind makes sharper moves. Choosing specific rituals that reduce stress ensures that energy, not willpower, carries decisions into the new year. And when rest and learning coexist lightly, career momentum becomes easier to maintain.
The objective is to sustainably recharge, with clean boundaries around rest and minimal digital noise. If January is a launch, then December is the quiet place where readiness is built!
Bonus idea: gift‑your‑future hour. Spend one hour writing a friendly note to your future self with reminders, three strengths, and the first tiny next step; then schedule it to arrive mid‑January.
This single act ties these 10 ways to relax and recharge to a moment of clarity.
If anything in my blog post resonates with you and you'd like some further help and advice with your career, then why not get in touch today? Call me on 07941 690391, visit my website at davecordle.co.uk to see ways I can help and support you, or connect with me on LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.
I began my professional life training as a cartographer with the Directorate of Overseas Surveys, a department of the British government. I made maps of places such as Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Sudan and the British Virgin Islands. It was a fascinating time, being involved in planning the flights for aerial photography, interpreting the photographs and eventually producing the plates for the different layers of the final map.
It was during my latter years as a cartographer and my career in computing that I undertook bigger mountaineering expeditions to the Andes, the Himalayas, the Tien Shan and the Caucasus. At that time I also held various leadership roles in scouting. I coached and trained young people successfully leading them to develop themselves and embrace new experiences. So that’s where my passion comes from to help young people learn the strategies for success that I share with my business and career clients.
My journey in personal professional development and coaching has been amazing, and will continue to be so: it’s why I’m here, it’s my big passion. It’s what has informed my vision and mission.
However unlikely your dream might seem, if you keep taking steps towards it, even small steps, you may well just surprise yourself.
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