Jo Phillips: The power of pause

Realisation is kicking in as I write this that we’re on the cusp of December. How did that happen?? For me at least, time’s seriously flying, despite lockdown 2.0.  The hugely complex and ever-evolving Covid-19 operating environment continues to challenge us in so many ways and things are full on, in spite of the ongoing pause in sailings.  We continue to do an incredible job and navigating these challenges at pace has moved from being a crisis response, to our ‘business as usual’ setting.

Few people thrive on continual change and relentless pace…..though some may claim they do 😉  Making and sustaining this shift to this new normal isn’t easy; uncertainty and ever moving goalposts can genuinely take their toll.  Without creating pause and time to breathe, life can become a bit of a blur; working this way can find us in a perpetual ‘fight or flight’ mode and heightened adrenaline and cortisol begin to linger.  Whilst these guys are our best friends in tackling a crisis or emergency, given the opportunity to hang around, they can stop us from thinking clearly and from making smart decisions.  That’s why it’s so important to pause!

It’s fantastic to hear that so many of you have embraced our Take time for Wellbeing focus this month and have been experimenting with different ways to find a balance:

• Over 60 people signed up for our virtual yoga classes and a further 20 people took part in a webinars on creating a positive mindset – recordings of these will be available on The Insider this week
• Across Shared Services, people have been experimenting with blocking out set break times where no meetings are set up, to try and get outside in the fresh air during daylight hours
• On Britannia, the SMT and Ops team have been running a whole programme of wellbeing activities; one example being the small group discussions they hosted on World Kindness Day to make time to listen to each other, share concerns and help reframe and provide perspective for each other on things they were feeling
• Over 170 of you joined the webinar hosted by Validium, our Employee Assistance Programme provider, to learn more about the tools and resources available to help you
• Over 315 km have been run, walked, skipped by our colleagues raising money to support Men’s Health awareness initiatives in support of Movember.

I’m sure there are loads of other great examples and I’d love to hear about them!

As we all reflect on what we’ve achieved this year, and start to think about our goals for 2021, it’s on each of us to continue to be proactive in thinking about how we take responsibility for sustaining our energy levels and protecting our health and wellbeing. I’ve been reflecting on 2020 as my first full year as Chief People Officer – talk about a baptism of fire! Although what we’ve achieved has been hugely rewarding and may be one of the best development experiences of my career, I’d be fibbing to say that at times it hasn’t taken its toll or left me feeling overwhelmed. I’ve definitely had my ‘holy crap’ moments.  Cue the power of pause.

I spent a fair period of time in that ‘always on’ space in my late 20s, fuelled by the perfect storm of a growing remit and my own drive and ambition…. it felt like ‘always on’ was what was expected and I wasn’t going to let anyone down.   I struggled to sleep, I was wired, I felt physically under par and I found little time for self care. I compounded the issue by taking all of that on my own shoulders and not asking for help.  Thankfully I had a bit of an epiphany back then; a new boss joined and made me realise that work life balance is a choice. I took some convincing as it definitely didn’t feel like my choice to make at the time.  She helped me realise that overworking isn’t a badge of honour or something to be proud of …. I thank her for that to this day. With her support I began to prioritise what I spent my time on at work and outside…. I chose to do things differently and created more time for me, knowing that would help me deliver what I needed to at work.  There always will be times where work needs more than normal to get things done (that’s just a reality of life), but I choose to make that happen more on my own terms and balance it with things that I know support my wellbeing.  I’m also far better at speaking up and asking for support if things feel like they’re spiralling, or are unrealistic.

At that time my employer started running onsite Pilates classes and I gave it a go.  I loved it so much that I trained to teach.  Pilates is still my go-to, as well as mindfulness which I practice regularly.  It’s sometimes hard to motivate myself to do it (extra time in bed can be more appealing sometimes), but I always feel like a different person once I have and that’s why I choose to make it a regular thing.  Taking even as little as one minute to pause, be in the moment and focus on your breathing is really effective. It helps to switch off the fight and flight system, regulates anxiety and can give much needed clarity and perspective.  It has got me through some pretty tough days over the years.

Here are some really cool facts about mindfulness or meditation:

• Research done by Wake Forest Baptist University found that meditation has the power to decrease the intensity of pain by 40%
• A 2008 study published by the American Psychological Association found that meditation increases feelings of social connectedness towards strangers, improving levels of love and kindness
• Research published by the Association of Psychological Science found that 15 minutes of meditation helped individuals in the study make better and more balanced decisions
• Mindfulness changes your brain! With practice and concentration, it provides a tool to reconfigure your neural pathways, retraining your automatic responses to certain situations. It’s a proven method of reducing anxiety but can also help prevent neurological conditions and make us more effective intellectually.

You can read more about mindfulness here. If you haven’t tried it before, it’s worth a go. Here’s a quick and effective breathing exercise. Try it and let me know how it makes you feel …

I’m hoping that most of us will have some time off during December – an important opportunity to pause, rest, reset and recharge. 2021’s going to be exciting and challenging in equal measure, as we bring our ships back into service and get back to what we love doing.  Knowing that, what more can you choose to do set yourself up to succeed?

And if you have any tips and tricks that work really well for you, don’t keep them to yourself…. share your ideas and practices with others… it may just be the thing that makes the difference to someone else.