The holiday season brings joy to everyone, but it may be a busy time for some of us. Sometimes, we need to achieve a lot of activities in this period, like planning travel arrangements, shopping, hosting events at home, working, and it can be challenging to stay focused while you’re keeping track of everything. If you find your motivation and productivity dropping away, here are simple ways that can help you get back on track while working during the holiday season.
Waking up early
If you have a flexible schedule in your work, you can start your day during the holiday season in a way that allows you to finish your work earlier.
For example, wake up at 6:00 am or 6:30 am, have a light breakfast, do some exercises, write a journal or meditation, and try to start work no later than 7:00 am. You’ll probably finish all the work you’ve scheduled for the day earlier, and you still have plenty of time to enjoy the festive season with your family and friends.
Isolate from distractions
Distractions are everywhere, especially during the holiday season. Isolating yourself from distractions can drastically improve your productivity. If you have a separate room for work, closing the door is usually enough to minimize distracting sounds. It is likely to prevent members of your household from interrupting you.
Even if you live in a small apartment and don’t have a separate room or work from the office, it can still be solved by a pair of noise-canceling headphones. Put them on, configure a white noise generator app, or even play calm music, they all will help block the noises around you.
Take short breaks
To reduce distractions even more you can try to manage your work by scheduling breaks more often. When you feel that you wouldn’t find the willpower to resume work when the time comes, it is highly recommendable that you create a simple work-break schedule.
The Pomodoro timer technique can be one of the solutions you can execute for this goal — it requires you to operate in 25-minute work intervals and 5-minute break intervals that alternate. After four 25/5-minute cycles, you take a longer 20-minute break. By sticking to this work-break schedule, you’ll be able to stay focused better.
Exercise more
Exercising is a great way to clear your mind and limit distractions while at work. Even if it is hard on busy days to exercise in the gym, you can still find ways to be active in your daily routine. Look for any opportunity to move around or consider meditation and yoga. These activities are great tools to help relieve stress and keep you more focused.
Also, good sleep leaves you feeling more alert and re-energized in the morning, which will help you stay productive when you get into the office.
Staying focused on work during the holidays sounds difficult, but with the right tips, you can make it more manageable. Remember that it’s ok to postpone some of the tasks, or decline an invitation to an extra holiday party or meeting. The time you’ll gain can be used to invest in other responsibilities you already have, which will help you stay focused.
