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Wind-up or wind-down?

15 Dec 2014

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Jimmy is working on developing a website for Alecia. Alecia’s business closes for the Christmas break in three days and Jimmy’s boss has put the pressure on to get this through so he can charge for it at the end of month. Alecia is already in the festive spirit and is happy to have the website for review when she returns to work.

Can we get this project off the desk by shutdown day? Do we push to get this done, or look to revisit it with a fresh mind in January and get this to Alecia on her return? As we wind down pre-Christmas, it is always with some trepidation with your workload.

We all probably have one eye on the Christmas stocking and the other firmly on our computer screens and inadvertently the stress levels are probably on the incline. Throw in the numerous shortened work hours with Christmas functions, a few hours lost to a beer too many, and those meetings that slowly grow legs as no one else wants to go back to their desk, time just seems to fritter itself away.

Now I can’t tell you what does and doesn’t need to be completed prior to Christmas - that is an important business decision that only you and Jimmy can make. But what is pertinent, is to take the time that you do get off, and squarely make it about you. It is a selfish perception but it is reality.

Relax, just relax…

There is an abundant amount of literature out there that discusses the correlation between rest and performance, rest and stress etc. Most of it we wouldn’t deem as ground-breaking but it is evident that the quality of the break is more important than length of the break – but who is going to complain if it is an extended holiday!

It is about spending time on what and who is important to you. Take the time out to do the things you enjoy. Spend time with the family, fish, travel, read a book, cycle the Central Otago Rail Trail, go glamping - just do something that you enjoy, that releases any pressure and takes your mind as far from work as possible.

Two words – Just relax! Eat, sleep, recharge, spend downtime with family, anything that will mean you’re not thinking about the office, the next project or in our realm, the next best website that money can build with superb SEO functionality and built in traffic functions!

Practicing what we preach

While you and your business are never far from our minds, this Christmas period you’ll find the Limelight team in a myriad of places throughout New Zealand, enjoying some of our personal pursuits and recharging our melons to ensure we are back with a vengeance in the New Year.

Here’s what a few of our staff are up to:

Aaron

Excitement is already building around the house, as Aaron and his wife prepare for Christmas day for their three young children (5yrs, 3yrs, and 6 months) and their extended family. A couple of beers around the bbq and spending some time with the parents who are travelling from the East Coast is on the top of the agenda. Slipping in some spectating of any cricket on TV is common over the break and Aaron is motivated to spend some time around the house fixing up the odds and ends.

Nigel

The master developer is in development mode over the Christmas break, this time in regards to the installation of a new kitchen. Plenty of prep work is required before the install date of the New Year, so he’ll be polishing and sanding in between spending some quality time with the family. Fingers are crossed for a warm dry summer and being able to put a few steaks on the bbq.

Kyrsten

This Christmas period is all about embracing freedom and a touch of selfishness as Kyrsten and her partner prepare for their first born in the New Year. Looking forward to sleeping in, relaxing in the summer sunshine and trying not to get too uncomfortable as baby begins to fatten up, are all high on the priority list. Preparation for bubs, plenty of folding and refolding of baby clothes, and hanging out with her partner will fill the holiday period.

Mark

This Christmas holidays is a minefield for Mark and his family. With a brother-in-law’s wedding in Kerikeri pencilled in and a heavily pregnant wife due in the New Year, it’s like a game of chance on whether to risk a trip north. The certainties for the period are that Mark’s boys are cricket mad and that he’ll be swinging a bat with them, and that the family will be embracing the serenity of home life before a newborn permeates the relaxed nature of the household.

Amelia

The Christmas period is a favourite time of year for Amelia due to the ability to catch up with friends and family from all over the country. The family’s Christmas celebrations will be in Auckland this year, hopefully taking in some great summer weather. A busy holiday period is also planned, where she is utilising her passion and skills and has booked numerous jobs in regards to some wedding photography, and with the aim of increasing the savings before heading off to University in February.

Suzanne

In her own words, there will be plenty of eating! The celebrations revolve around the table, with a number of occasions and Christmas traditions to be participated in. From a BBQ Street party, through to a Christmas Eve tradition of living it up at an American style dinner - waffles and lashings of maple syrup with copious cups of coffee. With the family back in the UK, it’s a double Christmas; Christmas day spent with kiwi friends, and the turkey and mince pies on the table on Boxing Day to salute the Northern Hemisphere.

A word from the wise old man (We struggle to find three of them in the office!)

As mental fatigue sets in around the office and we look forward to embracing the Christmas cheer, we’ve left the last word for our own old wise man.

“The great Philosopher Heraclitus said that “The only thing that is constant is change” – he couldn’t have said anything more fitting to how 2014 has been here at Limelight Online. We have been through a year of massive change in terms of services, systems and processes and are now emerging from this period reinvented and reinvigorated. I am incredibly proud of the advances we have made –our services are even better, we are working smarter, and most importantly our focus on quality has remained paramount. I for one am looking forward to 2015 with the partnerships we have formed with some of Christchurch’s most engaged businesses bearing fruit through the first quarter of the New Year.

We are all managing to take some much deserved time off over the break and are looking forward to continuing the great work, relaxed and recharged, on January 12.

To all our clients and partners, thank you for your support during the year - we wouldn’t be here without you.”