Helpful tips for maximising your wellbeing over the holidays

As we come to the end of another big, unsteady year, I’m reflecting on how proud I am of my team and what they’ve accomplished to improve WorkflowMax for you.

I’m also hugely inspired by you – our customers and partners who have faced the ups and downs so bravely. I hope that WorkflowMax has been able to help you manage things more easily so you can be as productive as possible.

One thing I’ve really made time for this year is wellbeing, and focusing on how to address and improve it for my team and myself. So to close out 2021, I asked some of Xero’s leaders, WorkflowMax partners, and wellbeing champions to give us their tips for maximising wellbeing over the holidays and for the year ahead. They’ve also shared some great book recommendations. I hope you find it all useful and I wish you all the best for a healthy and happy new year!

Wellbeing tips and advice

Steve Vamos, Chief Executive Officer, Xero

“Do yoga – it’s great! I watch Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. I recommend starting with a 30-day program.”

Rachael Powell, Chief Customer Officer, Xero

“Find ten minutes of silence per day where you sit and breathe. Set a stopwatch and close your eyes. Breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 5, breathe out for 5. And if you can’t concentrate just on your breath then download the Calm app and invest ten minutes a day. You won’t regret it!”

Rachael’s book recommendation: The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku.

Lucas Finch, Global Head of Wellbeing, Xero

“When you’re asked ‘How are you?’ this holiday season, find more nuanced ways to describe how you are. Rather than saying you’re happy to be on holiday, for example, are you feeling ‘excited’, ‘thankful’ or ‘relieved’? Being more accurate helps you identify what is occurring for you, and can lead to some more interesting conversations!”

Lucas highly recommends the book Emotional Agility by Susan David.

Dan Spitty, Chief Executive Officer, Everperform

"Give yourself time to recover! The last two years have been extraordinarily challenging and the temptation is to catch up on lost time with everyone you care about. Just remember to catch up with the most important person – yourself! Prioritise putting things in your schedule that build your energy back up, so you can enjoy the break and prepare for the new year."

Dan recommends: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Everperform, a WorkflowMax app partner, measures your company’s performance data and provides personalised insights to help improve the productivity, wellbeing and connections of your people.

Ryan Kagan, Director of Digital, BlueRock Digital

“I’m a big fan of walks along the beach with my dog. It’s a great way to get the blood pumping, collect your thoughts and relax. I’m currently reading a whole ton of picture story books to my seven month old daughter, but next on my list is Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon.”

WorkflowMax implementation partner, BlueRock Digital, is based in Melbourne and specialises in digital and customer experience strategy, development, systems consulting, design and marketing. 

Karen Maurice-O’Leary, Creator of the Bolognese Philosophy

“Implement and follow the Bolognese Philosophy of course so you can be that boss, be that team leader, be the person who lets your team go home for Bolognese and be the person who feels like they can!”

Kaz’s book recommendation: Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself, by Nedra Glover Tawwab

Liz Tobin, Owner and Systems Specialist, Gingersnap Consulting

“Having a ‘flight mode phone day’ or two, and getting away from social media and the temptation to look at work emails really helps clear the head. Before enabling flight mode, I download a few episodes of the Radio Headspace podcast. These are short and sweet (my attention span for podcasts is short), and are an eclectic mix of topics that help you gain perspective.

If podcasts aren't your thing, a dip in, dip out book I love is Zen: The Art of Simple Living by Shunmyo Masuno. It’s full of tips to just live more simply.”

Liz runs Gingersnap Consulting. She’s a UK-based implementation partner who helps teams put the right software in place to drastically reduce operational headaches and achieve more.

Will McTavish, Co-Founder, Link Solutions

“The book that has a huge impact on how I approach life is Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins. It's about mental toughness and perseverance. My 'tip' from the book would be ‘Pain unlocks a secret doorway in the mind, one that leads to both peak performance, and beautiful silence.’ This is the book that got me into running marathons.”

Link Solutions is a NZ-based implementation partner. Will and the team can help you select the right set of apps for your industry, implement them correctly, and give you the visibility you need.

Koren Wines, GM, WorkflowMax at Xero

I’m going through a bit of a  retro phase and rewatching the Vulnerability and Shame TED talks by Brene Brown. Brene’s insights are so foundational to everything we experience in our lives. Building on that, I absolutely love all of Patrick Lencioni’s books, which I find validate the work I’m doing and give me those epiphany moments on how to pull the levers that will get me to the outcomes I’m trying to achieve.

Joe Lyons, Managing Director - Australia & Asia, Xero

“My one tip is that I am a huge fan of the Headspace Mindfulness app. I listen to the daily meditation before I go to sleep every night. It clears my mind and ensures I get a really restful sleep“

And a great podcast I recently listened to was this one, with former F1 Aussie driver Mark Webber. I really enjoyed his perspective on high performance.

Holiday office hours

From 24 December 2021 to 17 January 2022 we will have a small team on board to look after you. If you have any questions, please contact the Customer Experience team at support@workflowmax.com or visit our support centre. We are committed to providing support to you over the holiday season – and all year long – so do reach out if you need anything.