The holiday season is almost upon us and very soon celebration invites and thoughts of who’s hosting Christmas dinner become top of mind. The demands of the festive season become greater as the countdown begins. As your mind drifts into thoughts of a white Christmas, reality bites – there’s still work to be done.
Here are some tips to maintain your small-business productivity and prepare for the new year ahead.
When all around you is chaos– keep your cool and stay focused.
If you don’t already have a daily planning ritual, it could be a good time to start.
During the busy holiday time, more than ever you need a daily and weekly plan to maintain your focus in order to complete what needs to get done. Start by scheduling your priority tasks into your calendar. Schedule shorter batches of time to allow for the smaller less important tasks to get done.
Take advantage when your clients slow down during the holidays.
Not every industry gets busy around the holiday season, in fact many shutdown altogether. If your clients slow down or shutdown make sure you use this additional time in your week to work on important projects and other work that may have been neglected.
If things are really quiet, why not dedicate a day to clearing out your office space, de-cluttering your desktop and organising your computer files. You’ll start back to work after the holidays feeling motivated and ready for action.
Planning is critical to success, put aside some time to reflect on achievements, set goals and plan for the following year.
Get prepared early on.
If you know you’ve got a busy few weeks ahead, make arrangements and get organised ahead of time. You may want to set up an email auto-responder to announce the dates of your office closure, or you may want to stock up on items before your suppliers close for the holidays.
Take some personal time to run errands and do your Christmas shopping before it becomes impossible to find a parking spot. That way your mind won’t be preoccupied with thinking of the perfect gifts and you’ll feel less pressure in work time. Do whatever you need to do to make your busy time less stressful and the festive season more enjoyable.
Acknowledge your team and clients.
The holiday season is a time to thank your team for their hard work and show your appreciation. Organising a casual lunch or after work drinks will encourage everyone to have fun and makes them feel valued. It’s also a time to re-connect with your clients and personally thank your best clients for their support. Your clients will appreciate a real card or a small gift in the mail.
By finding a balance between staying productive and preparing for the festivities, you’ll have the well-deserved break that you’ve been looking forward to.
