While it’s hard to believe, the holiday season is fast
approaching. Christmas is literally next
week and many wonder how the year flew by so quickly? There is so much to juggle over the holidays –
parties, shopping, traveling, planning and of course, work – so there is a good
chance that you could lose focus at the office.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed at work during the holidays as there are so
many competing demands placed upon you between your personal and professional
lives. Personal stress over the holidays
often leads to work stress. How do you
cram so much into an already fully packed schedule? It’s also difficult to stay focused at work
when so many colleagues and managers are on vacation if you’re left behind to
work over the holidays but this might in fact be a blessing. Often there are fewer expectations and
demands put on you at work over the holidays and things can be slow. So how to stay focused at work over the
holidays?
First and foremost, take a few days off for some “me” time. If you have some vacation days saved up, use
them. Take those days to get your
personal holiday affairs in order and do a little shopping or spend time with
loved ones. This will give you a chance
to recharge your battery before you head back into the office.
Get some perspective and clear your mind. Put tasks and projects, both personal and
professional, onto paper and out of your head.
Create a to-do list and stay as organized as possible so that when you
come into work, you can leave personal things at home and not have them be
ever-present in your mind and that way you can focus on the work tasks at hand.
While it might be difficult, avoid multitasking. Don’t work on both personal and professional
things at the same time. While maybe
over a lunch break, you can head out to a local store to look for Christmas and
New Year’s gifts or do some online shopping, don’t sit around the office and do
it all day while trying to work on pressing office matters. Break your day up. Use your personal downtime post-work hours to
focus on holiday pressures. Don’t bring
them to the office with you.
Start working on year-end projects early. The holidays can creep up on you before you
even have a chance to blink. Start your
holiday shopping earlier than you have in past years so that you can get a jump
on work projects. Don’t let everything
sit until the last minute. This only
causes more unnecessary stress that you don’t need.
Leave your work at the office; don’t take it home with you. We all have family obligations over the
holiday season and it’s important to focus on them. When you’re at the office, focus on your work
and set goals to accomplish it before you leave for the day so that when you
get home you can relax and have a clear mind to enjoy time with family and
friends. If you stay focused at work
during the holiday season and meet your goals and deadlines between the hours
of 9-5, you won’t be distracted when you arrive home.
Set reasonable boundaries and do what you can; don’t
over-commit. While it’s tough to stay
focused on work with holiday parties, client events and “Secret Santa”
exchanges, remember these things are supposed to be fun so only do as much of
it as you can; you don’t have to do all of it. Prioritize and balance your
holiday activities with your work obligations.
Don’t feel like you have to accept every invitation you are offered or feel
like you have to go to every department lunch or gathering. While being social in the office and spending
time with co-workers is important, you don’t want to do it at the expense of
the tasks you need to get done and the time you want to devote to pleasures
outside the office. Keep focused and
maintain a good work-life balance.
Don’t overwhelm yourself.
Try and stay focused on “today” and don’t project into the future. The trick might be forgetting about the “seasons”
and keeping track of the task at hand.
Act like it’s a different time of year and you’ll see that you’re able
to get more accomplished.
Lastly and most importantly, remember what the holidays are
all about. It’s supposed to be a joyful
season, not one filled with unnecessary stress so don’t bring it upon yourself
when you don’t have to. The holidays are
a time for celebration and reflection and a time to rejoice and revel in your
accomplishments and personal joys. A
chaotic holiday season is not a choice; it’s a given so try and make the most
of it.
So how have you been able to juggle your personal and
professional lives during the holiday season?
Do you find it exceedingly difficult or have you learned tricks to balance
both? Leave a comment and let me know
what you think and remember, enjoy this special season as much as you possibly
can. You deserve it!
Here are some articles you might want to check out about
staying focused at work during the holidays:
“14 Ways to Stay Focused at Work This Holiday Season”: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/12/02/14-ways-to-stay-focused-at-work-this-holiday-season/
“Keeping Focused during the Holidays”: http://tweakyourbiz.com/management/2013/12/04/keeping-focused-holidays/
“How to Stay Focused at Work through the Holidays”: http://www.perwickstrom.com/advice/how-to-stay-focused-at-work-through-the-holidays/
“How to Stay Focused at Work this Holiday Season”: http://www.sunstoneonline.com/how-to-stay-focused-at-work-this-holiday-season
Until next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment