A High Performance Holiday
A High Performance Holiday?
The title of one of my regular podcasts intrigued me. Here’s what I learnt from The High Performance Podcast.
I listen to lots of podcasts
One of my pastimes in Sri Lanka at GlenMyu Estate, in between visitors, is to listen to podcasts.
Some are educational, some are for my mental health and others are just for fun.
A recommendation from a guest
One of our guests and I were chatting about podcasts. He runs a successful business in Colombo and continues his business education with a mentor.
The mentor suggested that he listen to The High Performance Podcast.
This was a podcast that was not in my list of regular listening. The guest liked the podcast as there were lots of interviews with renowned and successful sportspeople, amongst others.
As the guest was interested in a range of sports there was a motivation to listen regularly to this podcast.
The High Performance Podcast
This podcast is hosted by Jake Humphrey and Professor Damian Hughes.
Jake is a former television presenter. He stepped away from presenting sports to concentrate on the High Performance Podcast.
Damian is a Professor of Psychology and Change. He has written several books and is a keynote speaker.
They aim to “turn the lived experiences of the planet’s highest performers into your life lessons”.
A High Performance Holiday
This is a catchy and intriguing title is important to capture ones interest and it worked with me.
The shocking statistics around the British holidaying public
A British Airways Survey for YouGov revealed that “survey reveals 50% of UK working adults do not take their full annual leave allocation”.
Amazingly ” a third of working Brits (36%) who did not take their full annual leave said it was because they ‘just didn’t get around to it”.
And “42% confessed that they have felt stressed about work whilst on holiday”.
Do you check your work emails when you are on holiday?
Yes lots of people do!
The survey revealed that “48% have checked work emails whilst away and more than a third (39%) have gone one step further and responded“.
Taking your leave is good for you
A 40-year study by the European Society of Cardiology revealed that taking a holiday could help people live longer.
At the ESC Congress in Munich, Germany (28 Aug 2018), Professor Strandberg said: “The harm caused by the intensive lifestyle regime was concentrated in a subgroup of men with shorter yearly vacation time. In our study, men with shorter vacations worked more and slept less than those who took longer vacations. This stressful lifestyle may have overruled any benefit of the intervention. We think the intervention itself may also have had an adverse psychological effect on these men by adding stress to their lives.”
The dangers of presenteeism
Feeling that you always have to be present at work, always connected and available is dangerous in the form of stress and burnout.
Whoop (the Health Monitor Band company) employees are rewarded for getting adequate sleep and rest. What a great idea.
Always working on holiday?
They realise that fully shutting off from work is not always possible. Sometimes a compromise is required. Jake has an agreement with his wife that his work phone is locked in a safe all day and in the evening he is allowed 10 -15 minutes to pick up work calls and e-mails.
Joe Wicks has a technique where he takes time out as “mini retirements” where he takes on less work and is present with his family and friends. This was a result of hearing a phrase “don’t wait until you are older to retire, have mini retirements every year”.
The main elements required for a High Performance Holiday
A second phone
Dr Peter Atia gave Damian and idea to have a sequin phone so that he could turn off.
What a great idea! (apart from the potential landfill question when phones are at the end of their lives).
Having a phone that is only used for personal and family matters can allow you to switch off from the office. If it does not have WhatsApp, Email and job related accessibility, it can just be used for family photos and family calls.
The value of getting new ideas and energy
Alex Scott loves to travel. She gets her education and learning about life from travelling around the world, learning about different cultures and meeting people.
She says that it gives her so much energy and makes her fell alive.
Prioritising going on holiday.
Getting the team to take full responsibility when you are away.
It’s sometimes hard to delegate but it can be really good for your team. If you can get your team on board that when a colleague is on holiday they will not be contacted under any circumstances it will be good for both you and your workmates.
Show me your calendar
Shane Pariss did an exercise with Jake where he asked him what are the most important things in his life?
Jake replied “his children, his wife and finding some time for himself”.
Shane then asked him to show him his diary and he would show Jake his priorities!
Tips on how to have a High Performance Holiday
Jake and Damian provide a few tips on how to have a High Performance Holiday.
Delete all, your work apps (or lock your phone up or get a non work phone).
Plan your holiday well in advance.
Create a boundary in the office where no-one is contacted whilst on holiday.
Keep away from tech when you are on holiday
Be where your feet are – make sure you are fully there and connected in the moment when you are away.
Have some downtime between activities – holidays should not be totally organised.
Remember why you are going on holiday.
Can GlenMyu Estate provide elements of a High Performance Holiday?
There are elements that allow our guests to have a high performance holiday when they are at GlenMyu Estate.
Although we do provide free Wi Fi for our guests we find that it is not used very much when they are here on holiday. The environment appears be right for people to switch off and appreciate the environment and enjoy nature.
I love it when I see guests sitting on the sofas in our lounge reading a book or just watching the clouds.
Walking around the estate or spending time at the swimming pool is a good form of exercise bot physically and mentally. The opportunity to listen to the bird song, watch our ducks in the stream or pet our dogs are simple things in life away from all the tech back home.
We find that our guests really do switch off
Although lots of our guests do explore the wonderful sights in the hill country, many change their plans and just spend time on the estate to relax.
Watching guests pick up a pencil and start drawing on a notepad, playing badminton as a family or swimming in our pool is a good use of their downtime.
Stay at GlenMyu Estate to explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and switch off
A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and see sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.
We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.
The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,
GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.
We find that our guests really do switch off.
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