Christmas is a challenging time for many companies. Not only are they trying to keep the business going, they are also trying to do Christmas shopping and get their homes in good order to welcome family and friends. If it’s not that it’s planning complicated trips around the country. It can be tiring, too tiring.

Even during the normal year one of the main things we notice about our clients is how tired they seem. Marketing teams used to say they were ‘busy', but they don’t use that language any more, they use words like ‘overwhelmed' or 'snowed under’ Gets me wondering, how can over-busy departments and individuals operate optimally – how can that ultimately be good for the business?

So my strap-line for 2024 is  'INVEST IN REST'. Yes invest! See rest not as a cop-out or idleness or even time-out, but an actual tangible investment that will yield a tangible return even, I believe, to the bottom line.

That return may not be instant because the strategic plans most companies make are not for instant return, but the returns will come in the next 2 to 3 years. Not only will staff be able to think more clearly and make better strategic decisions, they will also be able to manage their private lives better. They will be healthier and happier away from work and have relationships that last. These are surely the kind of foundations on which sustainable success can be built.

For example - can we encourage our team members to take a proper lunch break - rather than scoffing a sarnie at their desk? The word “company” comes from the Latin “com-panis” - to take bread with each other-  so stopping to eat with your work com-pani-ons may be the first step in encouraging a culture of rest.

For many years we did this at H&Co - it was difficult to encourage hard working editors away from their studios when deadlines were looming but I’m convinced it made a difference to their creativity in the afternoons.

So even if the helter-skelter ride towards Christmas is unavoidably white-water just now? why not invest in some restful rhythms for 2024, see if it might just bring a greater more sustainable ROI than relentlessly grafting.

Happy Christmas!