As we I don’t know about you but my year has been rough with deadlines glaring at me, bosses breathing down my neck and student expectations constantly caressing my urge to maintain a clean record of performance. Let’s just say I am quite appreciative of the holiday and plan to make the most of it. Whether your year was interesting, boring or fast-paced, December is here; how do you plan to spend it?

If there is something you have been putting off all year round, this would be the perfect time to do it. Get down to this novel you have natured a passion for, visit a place you have wanted to if your finances allow, join friends and family to enjoy the jokes you have missed, visit a spa, gym or something, cook a meal you haven’t gotten round to cooking due to lack of time — anything, dissect a frog if you must! At all costs, do not postpone it to next year if you can actually do it now.

This is also a great time to reflect. Reflection doesn’t just end with the past but must come to a prediction of the future with a clear vision of where you want to be in the next year. How has your year been? In what areas did you glow and where do you need to grow? This being done, now settle down to visualise and plan for your personal growth. Lest I am misunderstood, the phrase is ‘personal growth’ not ‘professional growth’. We spend a lot of time planning for our students that we barely usually think about ourselves. Spare some time this season to plan for you.

The timing couldn’t be more impeccable for a discovery. Discover your surroundings, something about your children or a relative, something mundane but one that has eluded your eyes all together. I am neither suggesting a gossip crew nor a simplistic village banter but a rather interesting yet moral discovery. Get to know your family members better, spend quality time (that otherwise you wouldn’t afford during a school term) with them. Discover what your cat or dog likes. Find out about a new recipe or an up-and-coming football team. Find out why the millennial are obsessed with the Kardashians or why the TV series ‘Empire’ rocks their world. It will help you keep abreast of the new generation.

Finally, eat, laugh and laugh some more. When is the last time you laughed so loud you thought it would fracture your heart? Teachers’ lives are filled with inspiration from the learners, motivation from within, a passion to deliver, impart and mentor, occasional heart felt laughter and usual hollow ones. Find fun, have fun and live fun. Surround yourself with people who make you laugh loud; create memories that will keep you looking forward to another December. When you get down to it, life is short and we are not rehearsing it, so why not make the most of the little time you have while you still have it.

All in all, the choice is now yours: to either slouch all day long glued to a TV with a bowl of popcorn or get out there and have the fun of a lifetime. The truth is, choosing the latter would be taking the road less travelled. The results are always amazing. The baseline here is to be productive at the end of it all — what is more productive than a well-rested brain and body?