How to Be Productive During the Holidays

Written by Maya Avram.

Many associate productivity (and success in general) with a “grind” or “never-off” mentality. From accepting additional work regardless of your capacity to execute it, to always being online and working long hours, modern work culture has left 59% of employees feeling burnout, according to a recent survey from insurance company Aflac.

Indeed, this reality often means that professionals struggle to disconnect from high-pressure environments, leading them to either continue working through holidays or crash in exhaustion as soon as they are off the clock, preventing them from the opportunity to rest and self-reflect, respectively.

Perhaps counterintuitively, utilising the holidays to relax, celebrate with family and friends and recharge your mental and physical batteries is the most productive way to spend the time off. It is from this place of calm and tranquillity that you will then feel motivated and energised to be productive, whatever that may mean to you.

From reflecting on your goals and experience, to honing your career strategy, job search and upskilling plan, below is our advice on how to balance your downtime productively to reap the benefits of rest and employ them into professional growth.

Disconnect to Recharge

While a strong work ethic is imperative to actualising your professional goals, equally important is your ability to step away from work to recharge. Research shows that those who take regular breaks and time off — and are adamantly present during it — outperform their desk-tied colleagues many times over.

According to Harvard Business Review, “The cognitive impact when you are overwhelmed with work can include cognitive fatigue, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, and impaired problem-solving ability.” To offset these effects and restore dwindling resources, use the holidays to focus on yourself — practise wellness, go on nature walks, catch up with friends and family. This will not only ensure that you return to work in best form, but will also free your mind from everyday concerns and foster your growth by “providing an opportunity for big or innovative ideas to emerge.”

Set Realistic Goals

As established, it is important to remain present to enjoy the festive period to the max, as well as reap the benefits of much-deserved downtime. Avoid overextending yourself in an attempt to catch up on work, but do set realistic, achievable goals during your spare time to mitigate the shock of returning to work full time, as well as feel accomplished and motivated in the new year. 

For example, if you are looking for a new role, consider allocating 30 minutes daily towards your search, including optimising your CV, revamping your portfolio and social media profiles. Initiating this process in December ahead of recruitment season in January will give you a competitive edge as other candidates may not keep their finger on the pulse during this time, amplifying your visibility to recruiters and hiring managers.

Alternatively, you can also use this time to enhance your skill set by reading vocational books, completing short online classes, or even volunteering with industry to gain experience and expand your network. In the same vein, reach out to your connections to wish them happy holidays, schedule catchups in the new year and attend holiday events to maintain your relationships and further expand your circle.

Return to Normal With a Plan

A key component of any successful career strategy is personal reflection. To truly learn from your experiences (good and bad), you must take the time to assess why your endeavours resulted in the specific ways that they have. Whether you are looking for work, honing your practice or expanding your network — and whether you have succeeded or failed in doing so — always think, “What is the lesson to be learnt?”

This introspection will help you course correct and hone your strategy so that it can best serve your long-term goals and ambitions. Start with general questions, such as “What is my end goal? What are the things most important to me?” These are easier to answer in your downtime, away from regular work stressors, when you are free to look at the bigger picture.

Once you know where you want to go, break those dreams into actionable small steps that are specific, measurable and time-bound. These will not be achieved overnight, and that is ok: “Plan in decades. Think in years. Work in months. Live in days.”

Written by Maya Avram.