I was in the final stretch...

I was still at my desk, still checking emails, still responding to messages that could wait until January.

My energy reserves were empty.

I told myself I'd take a break.

Then I worried a client might need me, or a task left undone would prove I was unreliable.

So I worked from the sofa instead, feeling terrible about working and terrible about not stopping.

I relied on outside frameworks to function effectively, like

• Deadlines set by others

• Regular routines and schedules

• Clear processes and systems

• External accountability

• Structured environments

I Had Nothing to Work With

My ability to work and rest depended on structure, which came from outside: routines, deadlines, clear processes. These made up the framework keeping everything functional.

Christmas dismantled the framework.

Deadlines vanished. Routines broke. Clients went quiet.

The external pressure that helped me stay focused disappeared. My brain was left with nothing to work with.

I needed clear commands to switch from 'on' to 'off.'

Without them, my head was constantly scanning for threats.

I Ran My Triage

I ignored my full task list and identified only what was safe to leave undone.

I asked myself, what three things would cause genuine operational damage in January if I left them undone?

I got my list of three done.

Everything else was moved to January.

I chose the last day and time of work then:

• I sent my out-of-office message

• I closed every application

• I shut my laptop

• I put it in a different room. (Out of sight, out of mind was important!)

I Had to Learn How to Rest

I had managed to stop work but now I found I could not rest. I kept looking for things to do all the time. If I did not switch that down, I would not rest properly.

I tried these:

• Coffee at the kitchen table (not my desk)

• A twenty-minute walk listening only to music (no podcasts)

• Thirty minutes of reading a physical book / newspaper / magazine (on anything that was not to do with business)

• My phone in another room

I Wrote a "Done" List

Everything I actually completed that year:

• The project I launched

• The client I kept

• The system I built

• The bills I paid

• The mornings I showed up when I really didn't want to

I kept writing until I had at least twenty-four items (2 per month).

I needed this – I needed to close the year with proof of what I had accomplished and completed, something different from my head reminding me of what I hadn't.

You Can Do This Too

A proper shutdown is essential for everyone. It's the difference between starting January recovered and starting it already exhausted.

I defined my stop point. I trusted my triage. So can you.

Merry Christmas!!

When Christmas holidays started, that structure disappeared. I stopped functioning. I'd reached my limit and the mince pies were calling!

The routines that held everything together vanished.

I couldn't work well. I couldn't rest at all.

I needed a deliberate shutdown, something different from a collapse.