Dessert First: Part Two (of Six)

Read Part One: New view, new you: The power of a workation

What would happen if we turned our days inside out? Or upside down?

If you read Part One of my series on living abroad, you’ll know that I’ve coined the way life felt in Greece as “Dessert-First Living.”

Before I left on this Grecian adventure with my family, I wasn’t sure how well this was going to work, but I knew that even if it wasn’t ideal, I could survive anything for 12 weeks. But I found that I didn’t need to survive at all, because I was thriving—and so were my kids. And honestly, so was my business.

Before I dive into dessert, let’s just examine the main course of rubber chicken and soggy string beans. For decades, we’ve all approached weekday scheduling the same way: We wake up to the obnoxious sound of an alarm, we rush to get ourselves and our families ready and out the door, then rush to an office or back home to our desks, where we spend at least hours in meetings or in front of a computer. After a full (and often exhausting) day, we rush to get everyone home from school or work, hurry to make dinner and then get everyone to sleep, just to do it all over again the next day.

I wouldn’t say this has ever worked particularly well, but it’s just the way things were done—or so I thought.>

As I mentioned, I traveled to Syros, Greece this past spring, where I lived and worked for 12 weeks. Thanks to a company called Boundless Life, we had everything set up for our stay by the time we arrived. My family had a place to live, I had an office to work from, and my kids were enrolled in a 12-week school program with other children from all over the world.

But the coolest part of the whole experience? What I now call “Dessert-First Living.” Unlike the traditional weekday schedule, in Greece, I got to experience the fun of life before I went to work each day. Because of the time difference between Europe and Eastern Standard, I started my day with free time on a beautiful island and put in my work hours in the evening and later into the night.

So, after getting the kids off to school each morning, my husband and I spent the days soaking up the Mediterranean sun, learning to sail, hiking the hillsides of Ano Syros, enjoying morning coffee on marble stone streets, taking long, leisurely lunches with our brand new friends (without feeling like I was committing some sort of corporate crime), and then, once I’d really, truly made the most of my day, I would take a quick nap and a shower and head off to my office for an evening of meetings and coaching sessions.

To my surprise, by the time I’d had my dessert (my “fun”), I was excited and eager to get to my office and get down to work—work seemed more joyful than ever. I had a new perspective on my work and started seeing client challenges in a new light. Despite the time difference, my clients were never far from my mind. Sometimes solutions came to me during my morning workout, or a leisurely lunch as I was watching Greek yiayias walk to the market, or even while I was taking a speedboat with friends to a boat-access-only beach.

Instead of being exhausted, I was invigorated. And instead of having morsels left for my family at the end of a long work day, they got me fresh-faced and bushy-tailed first thing in the morning. We were able to explore a new country together, before going off to school or work.

The experience made me realize how important it is for each of us to really enjoy every moment of our lives. And how much that enjoyment can benefit our businesses, for both entrepreneurs and employees.

The only thing that didn’t make the “dessert first” schedule? Hours of binge watching Netflix and mindless minutes of doom scrolling.

I’ve talked about this many times before, but happy employees are more dedicated employees. They’re more productive, they’re more engaged and they’re more loyal to their employers. And you know what that means? They’re more beneficial to a business’s bottom line.

I was reminded just how true this is while I was in Greece. I was more appreciative than ever of the clients that were supportive of me working from across the Atlantic for 12 weeks, forgoing in-person meetings or sessions. I think I spent even more time on their programs and with their alumni, ensuring that everything ran extra smoothly, despite the distance.

Being overseas helped me reimagine what life could look like. It also gave me a new perspective on life—both personally and professionally (which I wrote about here), and I know that perspective is going to serve me well as I plan new and exciting initiatives for Leader in Motion and all my clients in 2025.

So let me ask you: What if you started your day with  “dessert” first?

What if you did the things that filled you with joy before you took care of family or dove into a tough project?

What if you came to meetings slightly sunburnt from learning to sail just a few hours earlier? Would you smile more? Would you be more optimistic? More curious? Is it possible you would be better at your job?

Please join me on LinkedIn and let’s continue the conversation.

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