Gift Giving

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

Yesterday I had a conversation with my friend Victoria. Among other things, we talked about getting ready for the Holidays. I guess it’s no surprise that we also talked about gift giving, more specifically, Victoria told me about her gift ideas for her customers. I loved them all. They were a wonderful combination of keeping her customers in mind but also supporting businesses that suffer due to COVID.

When she asked me what I would do for my customers, I hesitated for a second. I wasn’t sure how to tell her that I don’t give gifts for Christmas, neither to my customers nor to my family.

There were a couple of reasons why our family came to this decision some years ago. But the most important one is that, at least the last couple of years, spending time together as a family always means traveling. We’d rather spend the money on airline tickets, special family dinners, trips to New York, you name it. We considered this a far better gift than anything else.

Traveling won’t be possible this year due to the pandemic. As much as this saddens me, I still consider us very lucky. We are still working, and we don’t have to worry about money. Of course, I would much rather have spent Christmas in New Zealand with our son, but compared to other people, this is more an inconvenience than a problem.

That’s why we decided to make a donation this year. Instead of spending money on a trip to see our son, we will donate food to our local food bank, hoping that this donation will make the day a little brighter for someone who is not as fortunate as we are.

Why do I mention this in my blog? Maybe it will persuade you to spend a little less money on gifts and instead consider giving to a charity, a food bank, or maybe a neighbor in need. And if Christmas without gifts is unthinkable for you, consider buying gifts from local stores, supporting them like my friend Victoria does.

Wrapped Christmas Presents by Bruno Germany from Pixabay

Starting Your Day

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

Have you read the quick and easy tip to reduce stress? If you missed it, go back to December 1st and read it. It’s a quickie and won’t take more than three minutes.

Here is another great way to use your deep breathing. Before you start your day try this:

Close your eyes, focus on  your breath, and set an intention for the day, e.g. stay calm, be more patient, focus, […] fill in the blank.

I find it a great way to remind myself of something that I know will help me go through my day. If I have a difficult conversation ahead, I remind myself that I need to listen and not assume. If I have a day packed with things I have to do, I may remind myself to stay calm and keep a clear head. If I have a project to launch, I may remind myself to stay focused. Whatever it may be. More often than not, my “intention” pops into my head when I start to lose track and need that little reminder.

Give it a go. I’m sure it’ll help you manage your daily challenges better as well.

Less Stress With Three Deep Breaths

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

I believe we could all benefit from a little less stress. That’s why I’ll kick off my “Advent Calendar” with a simple but effective tip: take three deep breaths.

It is one of the simplest, but at the same time the most underutilized technique to release stress: deep breathing. Not the shallow kind of breathing that often goes hand-in-hand with stressful situations. There is a huge difference. I mean the kind of breathing that is fundamental in practices like Yoga or martial arts. It’s also taught in public speaking classes to reduce stage fright.

Despite being mentioned so frequently, we tend to forget about deep breathing the moment we need it the most, e.g. when we are stressed, anxious, angry, upset, […] fill in the blank.

That’s why I chose it as a starting point, reminding you that no matter where you are, what you do, or what has happened, you can always stop for a minute and take a couple of deep breaths. They’ll ease the tension in your body, clear your head, give you time to calm down, and respond in a more grounded way.

How to do it:

You can do it sitting or standing or even lying down. But let’s assume for now that we are standing somewhere or sitting somewhere.

If you sit, put your feet on the ground, if you stand, stand with your feet hip-width apart. If closing your eyes helps you focus, do so if it is safe.

Now, slowly inhale and count to five, hold your breath for a second, then exhale and count to five. Repeat for at least three times.

Alternatively, slowly inhale, feeling the air travelling to your lungs, filling your lungs, and allowing your belly to rise. Take a moment, then slowly exhale, feeling the air leave your lungs and your body, allowing your belly to fall.

As long as it is safe, you can place your hands on your belly to feel the rise and fall with each breath. Repeat for at least three times.

Simple, isn’t it? Try it and see what happens.

24 Days Till Christmas

Posted on by Regine Albrecht

A Special Kind of Advent Calendar

For many people the time before Christmas is a very stressful time. Despite the fact that we look forward to the Holidays, it comes laden with a lot more work. It is not that we don’t like the preparations for the Holidays, but it means extra work in addition to our already packed days.

Looking back on 2020, it was, and still is, an unusual year that presented us with challenges we couldn’t have imagined. We had to be extremely creative to come up with solutions for our businesses and lives. The most difficult part, we often had to do it alone. Many couldn’t–and still can’t–visit family or friends because of the pandemic.

This is how I came up with the idea for an Advent Calendar for you.

The idea took shape while  preparing my son’s Christmas package. He lives in New Zealand, and our plans of spending Christmas with him got shattered. I still wanted to share some Christmas traditions with him, but how? Until we remembered a Christmas tradition in our house when he still lived with us. It can travel and stretch over the Advent Season: an Advent Calendar.

Advent Calendars

It’s an old German tradition to make the wait for Christmas Eve fun and enjoyable for kids. Starting December 1st children are allowed to open a little window on a calendar or unpack a little treat, one per day, until December 24th.

That’s exactly what I have in mind for you. A little something every day starting December 1st until December 24th. This version, though, won’t be filled with sweets and candy, sorry, but with ideas, tips, thoughts, suggestions to stay strong no matter what stress you may experience and to prepare yourself and your business for whatever challenges you may face now and in the future. 

Every day, starting December 1st through December 24th, you’ll find a new post. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

I wish you a very happy, calm, and peaceful Advent season,