How to stay productive during the holiday season (Video)

The holiday season is approaching fast, and two adjectives that usually come to mind describing this time of the year are “hectic” and “stressful” instead of “joyful” and “cheerful.” If you’re working, you’re probably busy closing the final quarter of the year, getting ready for the new one and you will also attend office parties, celebrations with friends and family, maybe plan some travel… What a joy! No wonder people get stressed out only thinking about all of this.

So, how to make this a memorable – and productive – time?

In the video above, our coach expert Sabrina Cadini shared four tips that hopefully will help you stay calm and productive and, most of all, happy throughout the holiday season!

 Stay organized with your calendars, lists, and schedules

It’s never too early to start planning for your holiday months, which – especially if you have kids – start now in preparation for Halloween, and they go until approximately the first week of January. It’s almost three months of disrupted schedules!

If you have been thinking about creating a zero-based calendar, this is the perfect time to start. You basically fill your calendar with everything you do in 24 hours: work, commuting, family time, meals, hygiene, sleep, hobbies, exercise, etc. In this way, you can get a better idea of how much time each activity will take, and you will be able to manage your tasks more efficiently.

Make sure you also find time to add all of your holiday to-dos (holiday shopping, mailing out cards, decorating the house, social events, etc., and don’t forget to include some needed downtime for you and your family to relax and enjoy one another’s company).

Once the calendar is filled, share it with your family members, so everybody can see what’s happening and coordinate schedules. For instance, if your spouse is invited to his or her office party and you are thinking about planning a gathering with your relatives the same night, you guys won’t have to overbook.

If you love to make lists, this is also a great time to do that, because what you don’t want to do is packing your days (and nights) with too many activities, or you’ll never be able to complete them.

Review the to-dos with your spouse and children and see if there are any tasks that they can help you with such as decorations or baking, for instance.

Same thing with your office team: Be very clear with tasks and projects that need to be completed during this time and delegate if possible: Are there parts of a project that can be assigned to people you trust?

Stay consistent with your routine

Keep watching the video to find out more and learn about more tips, and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get fresh tips and tricks delivered every two weeks!

One thing that Mana can help you with during the holidays is to create realistic goals, both for personal and professional purposes. Want to know more about Mana? Download the app today and schedule a call with one of our coaches to learn how to spend your time better!