How can you switch off this Christmas break so you can return to work in 2020, pumped and ready to rock and roll? We have a few suggestions!

Connect with people you dig

All year, you rack up 40 hours or more a week with your workmates. Over Christmas, you have time to hang out with friends, family, old travel buddies, former school mates … people you like being around or haven’t seen in ages. Reach out and set something up! Not only is hanging out with friends fun, it also has some positive impacts on your life. Studies have shown that people with social support are less likely to experience mental illness. Social participation is also strongly linked to living a longer life and improving one’s ability to deal with stressful situations.

So get the gang around for drinks and nibbles, meet in a park for a barbie or play a cruisy round of mini golf. Talk, laugh, share stories and enjoy each other’s company over a few cold ones – responsibly, of course!

Giving back is one of life’s greatest gifts

‘Tis the season to be jolly. ‘Tis also the season for giving and while many of us will wake up Christmas morning and open presents around the tree, you might want to think of another kind of giving. At Appoint, we encourage all our team throughout the year to give back to the community. It makes the giver feel so good! Get creative and have fun with it. You can even include the kids.

Joy to the world! (ways to give back):

• Spend less on family presents by doing Secret Santa and donate some or all of your usual spend to your favourite charity.
• Help out at a centre for homelessness or pet shelter.
• Register to sponsor a child, a community or a project like a water well.
• Donate toys to children in hospitals.
• Offer to take an elderly neighbour out Christmas shopping.
• Fill up a care package with treats and goodies and send to Aussie troops serving overseas.

Disconnect from tech

If you don’t absolutely need your smartphone for critical work communications, switch it off! (Or at least switch it to silent.) Shut down your social media notifications too. Stop compulsively checking your phone and enjoy what’s around you. Talk to the people you’re with, watch fireworks or parades without taking photos and really soak in the atmosphere instead of feeling compelled to share it with an unseen virtual audience.

Get out of town

Getting away from your usual surroundings forces you to leave behind drudgery chores like housework, gardening and errands. If you can’t manage a big family holiday, no worries! A weekend at the beach, chilling out in the hinterland or fun day trips to neighbouring towns can help clear the cobwebs and see you come back recharged for the new year.

We all want to have a fantastic Christmas and New Years so we can come back to work in January feeling fresh, rejuvenated and pumped for 2020. Spend your break doing meaningful activities with the people you care about. Rest up, eat well and have fun!

All of us at Appoint would like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas!