The season of preparing
TL;DR
Taking the time NOW to prepare for the chaos of the holiday season can have a positive effect on not only your productivity, but also your attitude and level of enjoyment through the remainder of the year.
November is here(!) and that means that the holidays are basically upon us.
I don't know about you, but I swear that time keeps moving faster and faster.
Before we know it, it'll be 2024 and we'll look back upon these next two months in a haze of confusion, wondering if they ever really happened or if we simply dreamt them up one cold wintry evening.
Wait...Halloween has already come and gone?? But everyone's still in costume: Betsy and Jodie Capes back in the 80’s on the left; Betsy’s daughters (Lucy and Zoe) on the right.
The point being that, while the holidays are usually the most fun, celebratory, and romantic of months, they can also be hectic, tension-filled, and overwhelming.
And that sort of breakneck pace can affect not only your personal life, but your professional one as well. It's all too easy to lose sight of the track and run your career right off the rails during the holidays. But it doesn't have to be that way.
So, what can you do to keep everything copacetic?
Let's take a look at four easy tips to keep you on the up and up...
1) Plan ahead. This sounds somewhat obvious, but it's particularly important this time of year when your schedule tends to get bombarded with personal and professional obligations before the year ends. Something as simple as getting your gifts early can have a huge impact down the road when you're stretched for time and looking to eke every second out of your day. A little planning now can pay huge dividends in the coming weeks.
2) Don't overcommit yourself. This is a tough one, I know, especially when it feels like December (in particular) has less days than February and every week is packed to the hilt. But, trying to do everything will only lead to eventual exhaustion, not to mention that it will also leave you with no time to fit in those spontaneous but important events that may pop up along the way. Leave some "buffers" in your schedule and you'll be happy you have the extra time when you need it.
3) Accountability. I've said it once and I'll say it again, and again, and again: accountability is key. Particularly when it comes to your career during the holiday season, it's easy to let things slide — the moment you put something off, it gets buried in the flurry of activity that comes with this time of year, forgotten for the rest of eternity. The easiest way to avoid this? Find someone to be your accountability partner — tell them what your goals are and how you plan to go about reaching them, and check back in with them on a regular basis to make sure that you're staying on track. It's a simple way to make sure that your career doesn't get lost in all of the holiday hullabaloo.
4) Work smarter, not faster. This is a good way to ensure that you don't burn out by trying to do too many things without clarity of purpose. In other words, slow down. Take your time. Think about how you'd like to feel about your career on January 1st and take some great advice I got recently: "Stand in the place you want to be and work backwards from there." In other words, envision the end result and think about what it would take to get there in the most efficient manner. If you then do all of the things listed above — plan ahead, don't over commit, and get an accountability partner — you'll be in great shape.
We realize that the ongoing elephant in the room is that the SAG/AFTRA strike is still going on, which affects many of you and will undoubtedly impact how you go into this holiday season on numerous levels. We hope there’s a solution before the year’s end, and (for what it’s worth) we continue to support your efforts.
That said…the window between now and Thanksgiving is actually quite precious — it's the calm before the storm. What you choose to do over the next three weeks will determine the way your year ends; you essentially have the power to control the pace (for the most part — we all know that there are things outside of your control that will always pop up).
So the question is, What can you do NOW to make the most of the holiday season?
I promise that if you take the time to address this, you'll see the difference in not only your productivity, but also in your attitude and level of enjoyment.