Thanksgiving is over, and now begins the lunacy of the end of the year. Everyone is swamped with social events, shopping, party planning, meal planning, and calendar juggling—and they still have to work a full-time job on top of this. It’s no wonder this time of year makes everyone a little crazy.
We at Aventure have compiled this quick little list to show how the holidays don’t have to derail all the hard work you did the first 10 months of the year. Use the holiday season to your advantage in a fun and realistic way, and you’ll find yourself in a position to actually enjoy it. Here’s to keeping up your producitvity through the holidays!
Be mindful and realistic. This is especially true if you’re the boss. Tis the season to perhaps scale back the project list. Rebalance workloads as needed and think about ramping up one of the larger projects in early January, when people are renewed after the break and have the energy of a new year behind them. Outline the key priorities for each day and each week, share them with your team, and stick to them.
Take advantage of reduced staffing. With people leaving the office to take personal days, extending holiday vacations, calling in sick because this is also the season for germy funk, take advantage of having fewer interruptions waltz by your office. If running on a skeleton crew means more work is left to you, find a groove and start cranking.
Reward yourself for tasks completed. If you have a big project on your desk, map out what needs to be done and nestle in little carrots, like taking a break to RSVP to parties, as rewards for achieving certain steps. Or organize your work under event-driven headings. “Things to do before company holiday party” and “Things to do before the gift exchange”. The busier your social calendar, the more you can reward yourself for getting things done—but make sure you have the self-discipline to hold off attending certain events until your work is complete.
Make an online shopping date with yourself. Set a time after work nestle into your favorite coffee shop (or pillow-laden bed) and tackle all of your online shopping. Make it an event and you won’t be tempted to tackle this job while you are on the clock. As an added bonus, doing all of your shopping at one time makes expenses easier to track and reign in.
Use the Naughty List as an incentive. Your boss is unlikely to give you coal for poor work or reduced performance, and no one wants to work late the day before a holiday because they couldn’t get their projects done in time. The holidays are expensive, and your job pays for them, so do your job first. You don’t want the Naughty List to come on a pink slip.