How to Stay Productive During the Holidays

With the impending holidays, it can be difficult to stay productive at work and handle home responsibilities. There are a number of different activities requiring our attention. At work, you may be conducting strategic planning and budgeting, carrying out performance evaluations, and striving to hit year-end goals. At home, you may be preparing to host family and friends, shopping and wrapping presents, attending social gatherings, or trying to rest up before the new year. Having all of these responsibilities can be daunting and lead to less productivity at work. Below are 5 tips on how you can stay productive at work during the holiday season.

These tips are based off of psychology and business research.

• Decide how much time you will take off early in the holiday season. Setting aside dedicated time to run errands and socialize with friends and family will help you focus more at work.
• Make a list and check it twice. Decide on a few goals that you want to accomplish at work during the holidays. Adequately planning your goals will ensure business success and productivity particularly during the holidays. If you have large goals, consider breaking them up into small and manageable pieces that can be tackled each day. You will feel more accomplished and less likely to feel burned out.
• Leave your work at work. With the easy access to technology, it can be tempting to leave the office early and bring work home to finish in the evening. However, this can lead to stress and burnout especially during the holidays, ultimately leading to less productive time in the office. Decide each day what you can realistically accomplish and set an end time. You’ll work more effectively knowing that you must leave the office at a certain time.
• Try not to multitask. Dedicating time to each task is most effective for getting work done. While it is tempting to look at data while listening to a conference call, neither task has your full attention and can lead to subpar results. Committing time to each task will help your productivity especially when you have so many responsibilities.
• Celebrate wins. The holiday season coincides with performance evaluations and strategic planning activities. While it is important to focus on getting work done, it is equally important to celebrate wins and recognize team members for their accomplishments because engagement helps drive productivity. Think back on your accomplishments for the year. What are you most proud of? What did you achieve? How did you grow professionally? Do you have employees who significantly improved their performance? What goals did your colleagues accomplish?

These tips can be helpful for managing your productivity during the holidays. How do you stay productive during the holiday season? Leave me a comment below or follow us on facebook!

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