Contributions from Priscila Nagalli and Paloma Bentes

The Camino de Santiago or the Way of Saint James is an ancient pilgrimage route dating back to the 9th century to Santiago, Spain. It is believed that St. James is buried in the Cathedral of Santiago. You can start walking in France, Portugal, or Spain. The total route is over 800 km. We did 115 km (72 miles) starting in Sarria and ending in Santiago. It was an enriching cultural and spiritual experience to travel the countryside by foot.

My friend and co-worker, Priscila, asked me to join her and a friend on the journey. Before the trip, Priscila had mentioned the concept of “we” versus “me.” As we walked, we experienced this concept as we felt our energies form a community of “us.” I also saw this sense of community in the other groups walking – embracing the idea that together is better.

Each year, I embrace living life holistically and in a way in which I show up fully in all scenarios. In this piece, the concept of “we” is inspired by our journey walking the countryside of Spain. These lessons can be applied personally and professionally.

1.      Diversity of Ideas – Discussions with others can broaden your horizon. Priscila elevated our trip by sharing her knowledge of highly recommended accommodations and restaurants. Paloma enhanced our daily walking by reminding us to take time to pace ourselves and enjoy the journey. I suggested we do daily foot massage and yoga to support our bodies during our rigorous journey. I was thankful, as these suggestions contributed to my being able to complete the walk. Paloma was grateful that yoga and massage allowed her knee pain to subside.

Culture Infusion – Survey Your Team Regularly: At Actualize, we thrive when we obtain feedback and survey our people often. Recently, we surveyed our team to check in on a challenging project. The results showed us that our team wanted more dedicated client-specific support, and they made suggestions on how we could meet their needs. We immediately set up dedicated times and personnel to support their request.

2.      Focus on Your Strengths – As we traveled, the three of us innately took on a role that suited us best. Priscila was our leader, organizing and guiding us each day. Paloma had the fortitude of a warrior, powering through multiple sicknesses and injuries, showing us how will can guide the way. I was the caregiver tending to blister care, teaching daily yoga, and sharing natural remedies for our ailments.

Culture Infusion – Goal Setting: We counsel our team on aligning their goals to their aspirations and what lights them up. As we focus on what we love, work and life flow more easily.

3.      Sense of Community – When you are walking the Camino and witness the success and determination of others, their energy pulls you forward. When you feel you cannot take another step, you see other walkers and cyclists in the distance achieving a common goal. Being part of this larger community is a powerful force that propels you to continue.

Culture Infusion – Focus on People: We genuinely care about our people and building teams that work together. We have Google email groups where we can ask questions. Our people come together to support one another and share a common goal. It is beautiful to witness the support towards resolution.

4.      Build Bonds – When you share in a challenge such as the Camino, you build bonds and memories you will never forget. As each of us needed a boost, the others would support and lift our vibe. When my feet broke out in a heat rash and blisters, Priscila and Paloma helped put cold compresses on them and got medicine from the pharmacy. If I did not have them, I might have wanted to give up, but I kept moving forward to foster our team bond and to complete the journey together.

Culture Infusion – Foster Team Connection: We love to have social and cause-related events to build our team bonds outside of work. We have an upcoming event in which we will help homeless people learn how to interview for jobs. Priscila and I discussed expanding our team building experience with additional activities and work opportunities before and after our time of giving back to the community. Supporting our community has always been a big part of our culture at Actualize Consulting. Now, with the strength of deep connection I experienced on the Camino, I feel we will do even more meaningful work.

Time Magazine’s piece on Blue Zones supports that we live longer and healthier lives if we are focused on community and healthy lifestyles. Many times, I find myself thinking or saying I can do this alone. After walking the Camino with friends and having time to contemplate life, I now more than ever believe that together is better. Life is richer with experiences and moments of sharing.

What are you trying to accomplish on your own? Who can you share your ideas, struggles, or solutions with today? ​

My vacation this year required considerable planning, as I am currently walking the Camino in Spain. Besides preparing physically I also had to prepare to be out of the office with limited access to the internet. I went back to the strategies we use at Actualize. 
Step 1: Assign Tasks
Before you leave, take an inventory of all tasks you complete on a daily basis and keep a log of all open items. Determine which tasks you need coverage for while you are out of the office, and then assign the most appropriate team member(s) to look after them while you are away.
Step 2: Educate Your Team
Make sure your team has all the information they need while you are out of the office. If someone is covering your open items, ensure to supply them with the proper steps and contacts, and a game plan in case a conflict or new situation arises. By equipping your team with these tools, you will reduce the need for any calls, texts, or emails while you are away.
Step 3: Choose an Email Strategy
While you are gone, the firm is still buzzing, and new developments are happening every day. Although this is great news, it can be particularly overwhelming for someone returning from vacation and trying to play catch up. To minimize inbox anxiety, have the team members covering your open items compile updates and notations for the day into one email that they will send upon your return. If you’re not ready to take the big leap of total disconnection, have them send one update email a day in the morning, evening, or afternoon – you choose!
Step 4: Schedule Debrief Meetings
Plan meetings after your return to work with those who helped compile update emails for you. Having these meetings already on the calendar is one less thing to worry about when you get back and will catch you up to speed on your daily tasks, open items, and any firm-wide updates.
Step 5: Let Others Know the Game Plan
Before you leave, send out a summary email to the firm or your division to let them know your vacation strategy while you are away. Come Monday, instead of getting your out-of-office auto-response, they will know they can contact person X for help with task Y, and person A for task B. This helps set the tone for a relaxing vacation and provides essential information to those who might need your help for the duration of your time off.
Step 6: Unsubscribe from Marketing Emails
Every time we make a purchase from a store, either in person or online, we get added to a marketing list. While these lists often do have good deals and discounts, it is unlikely we need all of them bombarding us with emails on the daily. Take time to unsubscribe or reduce the frequency of which you receive these newsletters for a less cluttered inbox upon your return.
Step 7: Set up an automated Out-of-Office Email
At the very least, set up an auto-response letting those who email you know that you are on vacation and for how long. Cut and paste the game plan summary email that you sent to the firm, so people will know whom they can contact when they need your help.
Step 8: Enjoy Your Time Off!
Here’s where the fun begins: relax and spend time with your loved ones! Enjoy your time off so you can come back fully rested and recharged – and by following these steps, less anxious upon your return!
Below is the video I took last year that inspired us to implement these strategies firm-wide.

Do you currently or have you ever kept a journal? I started my first “true” journal in high school during the summers and I continue to write in a designated travel journal. Other than those, I had not been consistent. In November 2016, the weekend before my childhood best friend passed, my son who was 7 years old at the time secured a 5 year memory book at a yard sale for me as he knows I love to write. As one of my best teachers, he encouraged me to start using it during the time that my friend was getting taken off life support. He monitored my progress during the months to follow until journaling became a habit and I looked forward to my daily journaling. After 3 years of consistency and seeing the year’s previous entry, I am seeing the power of one line a day. Below I share some passages and the lessons I am learning from journaling.

1.      See Patterns. I noticed I was doing the same thing over and over in relationships and after seeing my patterns, I made changes for the better.

2.      Preserve Memories. I typically will write about the fun activities I took part in that day. It is especially fun to see what I did for my kid’s birthdays each year. For example, in 2017, on my son’s birthday, “Getting Blaine out of school to miss French class (as he dislikes) for lunch and to drop off food at the food pantry. So, blessed to be Blaine’s mom.”

3.      Celebrate Progress. Upon getting my 5-year journal, I was just starting to pull together the pieces for writing my book Culture Infusion. I can see the progress over the years from writing the final copy at the pool, getting published, to now regularly teaching classes to help other organizations. It is a bit surreal.

4.      Impact of Affirmations. I am a believer in the power of affirmations. It is fascinating to watch that when I do the affirmations, more times than not, they come true. It is a reminder when I see how over the years, the clearer I am with my intentions, the more they come true. For instance, I entered a contest with Hay House, I wrote almost daily for over a month, I was going to win and I did!

5.      Prioritize Personal Wellness. The journal has also been a reminder of one of the principles in my book, Culture Infusion 9 Principles to Create and Maintain a Thriving Organizational Culture to prioritize personal wellness. I have been reminded so often in my journal that I feel better when I am moving. This passage is one example, “Inspired from Actualize’s Wellness challenge – did kickboxing class. Felt good to do a different work-out. Figured out how to help the team be more productive with a new training portal to ensure we are focusing on our team’s well-being.”

The daily consistency of writing in my journal has helped me to focus my energy on what I know serves myself and others best. Even writing just one line was powerful. How could you use journaling to enhance your day? ​

Can you remember a time when you wanted to give up on a goal you set for yourself? Perhaps you were close to your goals around work, fitness or finances?

As I was going into my 44th birthday this year, I set a lofty goal to be in my best shape possible, both physically and mentally. One of the principles in my Culture Infusion program is to Prioritize Personal Wellness. I know from experience that I am at my best when I am healthy and moving. I feel better physically and mentally at work as most of my creative ideas come to me when I am active, not sitting in front of my computer.

My lofty goal needed an end game so I signed up to walk the Camino in May, which will entail 12-mile-long daily hikes. With aging, I have realized to effectively push myself physically, I must take everything but the kitchen sink into consideration to keep my body, mind, and spirit functioning properly. Gone are the days that I recover from an intense work-out quickly or that I can eat that pint of ice cream without weight gain.

I wanted to share some of the tips that have helped me to maintain a more strenuous work-out regimen and still stay motivated to keep going.

1.)   Green Shakes. In my article Add, Don’t Subtract, I mentioned how I was adding green shakes with wheat grass. I do not have as much energy nor does my body feel as good on the days, I do not have a green shake. My favorite is wheat grass, protein powder, a few pieces of frozen fruit (pineapple is my favorite), handful of spinach, and then I rotate with flax seed and chia seeds.

2.)   Massage. I invested in PUREWAVE which is a hand massager that allows for self-deep tissue massage. I also use a foam roller as well for hard to reach places like back and shoulder blades. This extra attention to sore muscles allows me to keep up with high intensity work-outs.

3.)   Dri-Fit Clothes. My mom used to say cotton kills. As I typically must work-out in multiple sessions, having the right clothes makes a huge difference. 

4.)   Shoes. Don’t skimp here, be sure to test out your shoes. For the upcoming long trail walk, I tested over 5 pairs of shoes before landing on trail running shoes versus heavy boots.

5.)   Balms/Salt Baths. With my PUREWAVE massager, I use muscle balms such as Solavedi and Arnica gel. In water Epsom salt breaks down into magnesium and sulfate. The theory is that when you soak in an Epsom salt bath, these get into your body through your skin and help relax muscles and loosen stiff joints.

6.)   Diversity. Each day, I do something different and at 44, I have not been in such good shape since I was in high school playing organized sports. To train for 12 miles, I am doing high mileage with a combination of walking and running. I will walk/run one day, run the next and walk the following to keep a mix. Additionally, I practice yoga at least two days. And I am a huge fan of Jillian Michael’s fitness appas she has a diverse range of work-outs that I can easily access on my phone for $99 a year. It even has meal plans and recipes.

7.)   Stretching and More Stretching. As I mentioned above, I practice yoga regularly, yet stretching after each work-out and before bed has enabled my body to keep up with the extra work.

8.)   Quiet Time. Taking time to simply be quiet, in a calm environment, is an important daily practice. This is a way to give yourself a break from the outside world. You can choose to do this while sitting or even while moving and not listening to music or a podcast, just in silence.

As you consider your own personal well-being, it is important to remember that you create your life and how you feel. Change starts at the individual level. Where can you add something to your routine to start making your personal wellness a priority?

Jillian explaining her fitness app.