CEOs say they are unplugging from the top job by cancelling all meetings and playing with Legos over the holidays

When the holidays roll around, many professionals find themselves in work limbo, unsure of when they can really unplug from the job. For CEOs, the last stretch of 2025 is no different: Many find it hard to step away from work, especially as businesses boom during the festive season. But chief executives are taking back their holiday downtime with small wins in their work-life arrangements. 

Despite the holiday season clearing out offices, sending thousands on vacation, and shutting down stores early, CEOs tell Fortune their work lives are still intense. Most say they can never truly unplug from the job, always on call if business beckons them back to their laptops. But leaders are still finding little ways to catch a breather from being CEO. Cooking helps one chief executive connect with his family, while another swears by the holiday season as a “completely sacred” time to unplug and pick up a book. 

CEOs tell Fortune totally unwinding during the holiday season is easier said than done, but they’re making it work by setting these boundaries:

One week of adventures and no set meetings

“To some extent, as a founder & CEO of a large and fast-growing company, especially one responsible for patient health and outcomes, I’m on 24/7, and I can be reached anytime without boundaries,” said Sami Inkinen, the CEO and cofounder of Virta Health Group. “My unplugging is more daily in that I allocat...