How To Stay Productive During The Holiday Season

Christmas shopping, parties, family get-togethers, traveling, and all kinds of events - are but some of the things we all have to juggle come the holiday season. Keeping track of everything can make it considerably difficult to focus at work.

The holiday rush can sometimes lead to stress which can distract you at work and result in a loss or decline in productivity. How do we stay productive and focused in that last week before Christmas? How do we make sure we finish everything we need to before the year ends? If you are having trouble staying motivated or simply having a hard time focusing, here are some tips to help you stay on track this holiday season.

Stay Organized First and foremost, stay organized. Make sure that you are keeping track of all the tasks that need to be done. Take some time, write down all your tasks, and track what you have accomplished and what has yet to be done. Once you have that down, feel free to break down your tasks into smaller pieces, and add subtasks or a daily to-do list, to make it more manageable. Staying organized saves you time and the stress that comes with forgetting tasks, and panicking because you can’t remember certain details about tasks and it shows you your progress clearly. One Task At A Time While it is true that multitasking is an essential skill for a true professional, contrary to what most people might think, it can be counterproductive when you are struggling to focus and if you are pressed for time. Cramping everything into one workday might result in subpar results and more stress for you in the long run if you have to end up redoing work. Set priorities for tasks, and finish them according to the priorities you set. This will help you focus and consequently help you finish in a more timely and efficient manner. Try Your Best To Stick To Your Daily Routine With schedule changes come routine changes and that may sometimes be necessary in fact, there is a time to be flexible with your routine. The daily routine that we have established throughout the year can often help us find our place in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that some people might even go as far as to call, chaotic. When you find that your daily schedule is getting crowded, do your best to stick to it even if you have to adjust it slightly. Limit Your Distractions

Set focus hours for yourself throughout the day where you just sit down and work on the tasks that you set out to do for that day. Resist the urge to check your phone and browse through amazon, and try not to check messages from your friends. Remove anything from your work area that has the potential to distract you from your focus hours.

This again ties into staying organized and planning your time. Set your focus hours and stick to them. Your focus hours will depend on you, this can range anywhere from a 2-3 hour time block, maybe more or less. It depends on how long you can focus and by setting realistic expectations and minimizing distractions, you can make the most of your productivity during your focus hours.

Take Care Of Yourself

In this season where everything is moving so fast, it is very important to take care of oneself. Work when it is time to work and rest when it is time to rest.

Take the time to recover during your off hours, set time to exercise, and stay active to keep your energy levels up.

Take time to work on your personal development, read a book, do yoga, meditate, whatever it might be, and make the most of your rest days to make sure you recuperate and recover in order to be in tip-top shape when you have to work again.

Conclusion

How we stay productive during the holidays really just boils down to planning, planning, planning. Take the time to evaluate what needs to get done, write it down, create an action plan and execute it just as you planned. Stay organized, take it one day at a time, stick to your routines, limit your distractions, and most importantly, take care of yourself.

And as a bonus tip, delegating might help you manage your tasks if you find that you have too much on your plate.

Hiring a virtual assistant can help you have more time on your hands to work on the tasks that have a more significant impact on your business.

Our VAs here at Transcend are highly trained, skilled, and always ready to assist you with your every need.

That being said, we wish you a productive and most importantly, a very happy holidays! #productivity #virtualassistant #holidays #christmas #howtoworkduringholidays