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How to stay productive during the Holiday Season
The holidays can be a fun time of year, whether it involves travel, your own or for visitors you’re hosting, as well as catching up with loved ones and preparing for celebration. But the holidays can also be overwhelming as well. The holidays seem to start when the season starts, not necessarily on the actual date. And it can become a bit too much. Add to the fact that just because you have the extra work that comes with preparing for the holidays, you still have your daily work and everyday tasks to contend with. So how does one stay productive during the holiday season? Here are some holiday season work tips that can get you started.
Planning Ahead Through creating a Holiday Schedule
A proper work-life balance during the holidays is key. One of the better way to keep that balance is to plan ahead. We’re lucky enough to know when the holiday season begins and ends (though it seems to start earlier every year) so we can plan ahead. We can use the time just before the holidays start to get busy to create a holiday schedule, tailored to both fit in daily work and holiday tasks. Not only will creating a schedule keep any surprises at bay, but it will also keep you organized as well not overwhelm, even if there is a lot to do. The best part about creating your own schedule is you can prioritize what needs to get done first versus what can wait. Using something like a blank calendar template that represents the months ahead can help you picture what needs to get done and when.
You can even customize how you want your schedule to be laid out, whether it is by importance, list based or through category throughout the dates required to get the tasks done. With the right scheduling, you’ll balance out your week so you’re not only productive, but if done efficiently, you’ll have more time to celebrate the holidays with your loved ones.
Setting up Work Priorities
Prioritizing which tasks are more important than others is part of staying efficient during the holidays. Making decisions on which tasks should be taken care of first should be a top priority in itself. But which tasks should be prioritized? Obviously, anything with a deadline should scheduled in order to meet that deadline. Also, any priority that requires the feedback of others. Remember that at times, it is not only your schedule you need to consider, but also the schedules of colleagues who are also looking forward to the holidays as well. Otherwise, the flexibility is dependent on deadline. A lot of the time, and depending on your role, a lot of workplaces are less stringent, as long as necessary tasks are accomplished. However, If you decide to prioritize the wrong tasks, then you could be paying for it even after the holidays are finished. It could even cause you more of your time and energy to get back on track. Using your holiday schedule, you could highlight the more important tasks as top tier priorities to focus on.
Maintaining productivity and Focus
Maintaining holiday productivity and focusing on your work can be a hard endeavor. The distraction of time off to spend time with your loved ones can throw off your workflow enough that you end up not doing enough work to satisfy your work ethic are well as the needs of your employer. The struggle to keep your mind on your work is real. What can be done to maintain the usual work flow? Treating some of the holiday time as if it were any other time working is a start. This could be hard, especially if
you’re now working out of town or during a time when others seem to have the time to have fun you seem to be missing. You have to remind yourself that you have to get your work done, that there will be time for “play” once you’re finished with your daily priorities.
Minimizing Distractions and Time Wasters
So what can be done with minimizing distractions? How can you practice effective time management during the holidays? A good idea would be establishing an area just for work. Whether that’s having access to the office during the holidays, a personal space for just work if working from home, or something similar if working out of town. You’ll need that personal space away from the planning of festivities or the “great time” coming from the other room. You would think that the office you usually work out of would be the optimal place to get work done, but surprisingly, it might be a bit distracting, especially during the holidays. Depending on your coworkers, the usual office could either be empty, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing. A good thing is the familiarity of the workplace office could snap you back into the efficiency you’re normally able to produce during the average, not- holiday work day. Of course, that same emptiness could be a reminder of the unfairness of having to work while it seems your coworkers are enjoying their holiday time, even though they might just be working elsewhere. You could run into your other coworkers, which could make you feel some camaraderie-- they have to work over the holiday time as well, which make you feel better about the situation. These same coworkers, however, could also be a distraction; even though they made the trip to the office, once they see they are not alone, they may use you as a chance to distract themselves from what they are missing, by attempting conversation and negating any productivity that might have been had. Also, the familiarity that comes with working at your usual desk can be depressing during the holidays, especially considering, that you could be anywhere else, and yet you chose to come back to the desk you’ll be back to once the holidays are over. This depends on what type of person you are.
So if the usual office isn’t the best place to work during the holidays, then the home office is the better alternative, right? That depends – its the easier sell depending on a few factors. If, for instance, your house is holiday-central - everyone has gathered to celebrate in your home – then this could not be the optimal environment to get work done. Even with your own space, with a closed door, noise of holiday glee can make its way into your work area. So much so that the FOMO might start to sink in (fear of missing out). Telling others to keep it down while you’re trying to get work done not only creates hostility, but it also might ruin moods, including loved ones who are just trying to enjoy the season. An easy fix to this would be to wear headphones and use the music to create an efficient work flow. Of course, anyone who has worked from home knows they will eventually get interrupted by a question a loved one has, usually regarding holidays preferences. Usually a question that could have been answered later than during your working hours.
Working in someone else’s home you’re visiting during the holidays adds another layer of difficulty. Depending on the size of their home, there might not be a quiet place to set up. You might have to consider arrangements. An alternative would be the local coffee shop or library. The problem is that if you’re easily distracted by noise or the conversation of others, a public space might not be what it is cracked up to being. An easy fix would be wearing headphones with your soundtrack of choice, like we already mentioned. Another inconvenience with working in a public place like a coffee shop is if you have to take a meeting. If you even attempted taking a meeting in an environment like a library or business, you’ll most likely be told to keep it down/to stop. One last thing to also consider is that you have to be a patron; if you set up at a coffee shop, be prepared to make purchases-- etiquette states that you’ll have to make a purchase for every hour you inhabit the space (plus tip). That adds up. As for libraries, in order to take advantage to some resources, such as access to the wifi network, you’ll need
to have a library card. Applying for a library card could either be an instant process or can take days, depending on the library and which branch it belongs to. Also note that because libraries usually host all traffic on public networks, which might not be ideal if your workload involve sensitive information. Would-be hackers could easily gain access to such networks, leaving your vulnerable.
A coworking space, on the other hand, offers the privacy of an office, with the flexibility of working from home. With a coworking space, you can book the time you need. Just note that you’ll have to research which location will be convenient with your situation, as well as make a reservation for the type of space you require, as well as hours you’ll need the space. Usually, everything needed to get you up and running is included with a coworking space, including secure networks. Usually the cost of a coworking space for the couple of hours adds up to the same cost as all the cups of coffee you would have paid for at the coffee shop.
Utilizing Time Management Techniques
Time management is a skill and just like any other skill, it must be practiced enough in order utilize said skill efficiently. Time management comes in a variety of strategies – picking the one that’s right for you depends on what type of person you are and which you mesh with the most. Deciding on which goes with your work life, well, that’s best decided by trying a few of them and then comparing which gives you the best results. The right strategy can help in getting you through your holiday schedule in no time!
Here are a few strategies you can try out for yourself:
Timeboxing:
Timeboxing is a goal-oriented time strategy where you complete work within “boxes” This strategy is effective if you want to approach multiple tasks within a set time limit or “box”. This strategy helps in breaking down large tasks into even smaller tasks. A great strategy, especially if tasks seem overly- complicated for their own good.
Pomodoro Method:
Similar to Timeboxing, the Pomodoro method encourages small breaks in-between tasks in order to get the creative juices flowing. The Pomodoro method also discourages the checking in on other tasks by forcing you to exclusively focus on one task within a specific time limit through the use of a timer/time keeping device. Once time is up, you’re supposed to break for a few minutes, enough time to grab a snack or stretch. Repeat the process until all your tasks are finished for the day.
Eat the Frog:
Per the Mark Twain quote – (“if it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” ) the Eat the Frog strategy takes inspiration from this quote and asks you to tackle the big tasks first before handling the smaller ones later in the day. This strategy can be useful if you split your days
between regular, daily work and the high-priority. To get started with this method, make sure to organize your holiday schedule so that the more complex tasks can tackled early on, while tasks that less complex can be handled just before your workday ends.
The Getting Things Done Strategy:
The Getting Things Done Strategy was developed by David Allen, in the early 2000s. GTD starts by writing down everything that needs to get done, freeing your mind from no longer having to remember what needs to be done, instead, that energy is focused on the tasks at hand. Once written down, go ahead and organize it by importance – what needs to be done right away, what can wait and what no longer needs to be done.
These are a few examples as there are countless other strategies you can try. We suggest doing the research and then trying out which works best for you.
Balancing work and Holiday celebrations
The most important thing about the holiday season is that it gives you the chance to spend the time with loved ones you might not get to spend time with for the rest of the year, and so getting your work done efficiently so you have more time is something that can’t be taken for granted. The holidays season approaches just as fast as it passes, so taking the time to enjoy it should be as important as your work. Remember to enjoy yourself. You’ve worked hard all year, you deserve to relax as well. Not taking the time for yourself can also negatively effect your work and is just as important as getting work done during the holiday season.
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