5 Productivity Hacks to Stay Busy Before the Holidays

With Thanksgiving behind us, we have all the December holidays ahead. Whether you’re excited about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the Winter Solstice, we wish you the merriest of seasons. We also know that this time of year means slowing down a little on the work front. If you can afford to take some time off, that’s great! If not, you may need a little boost to keep moving over the next couple of weeks. Here’s how you can do that.

Start Early

All the fun holiday stuff happens after noon anyway, right? You want to take off early to go shopping or to see the parade. Maybe you have to go home and throw some of your famous baked beans in the oven for yet another party. Well, would you lose so much of your day to festive things if you started earlier than usual on your work?

Not only do you beat your competition to the punch each morning, but you also give yourself that much needed free time in the afternoon—all without affecting the amount of work you get done each day.

Stay Organized

It’s easy to let your desk get cluttered with gifts, cards, recipes, and goodies from the office kitchen. Once they take over the space next to your computer, your productivity will fly out the window. Take a few moments each morning to clean up, put things in their proper places, and stack up the holiday items for later. Without that brownie tempting you or that holiday card list yelling your name, you can focus on the important stuff.

Shoot for the Stars

If you give yourself one huge goal to finish by the end of the year, you’ll seriously boost your productivity. Maybe you won’t finish the massive project before you head home to let Santa in, but think of all the little tasks you’ll accomplish. They can pave the way for a big victory in the New Year.

Take a Walk

What if you could do a little of your shopping during a short break? You could kill two birds with one stone by going for a brisk walk around a shopping center while also crossing a few names off your list, wouldn’t you feel pretty productive? That victorious feeling will keep you awake and refreshed through your afternoon work. It’s a win-win.

Listen to Music

If you’re determined to stay in the holiday spirit, a little playlist of your favorite seasonal songs might just do the trick. Music has been proven to keep us moving and focused, so why not make it useful during December? Maybe you don’t like Christmas music, and that’s okay. As long as you have tunes that keep you moving, you’ll cast off the doldrums that usually attack in the afternoon.

Look, we don’t want to be Scrooges or anything, but we know how important it is to get your job done even when you’d rather be sledding and drinking eggnog and taking the kids to see Santa. Let’s just get the work done so we can enjoy the holidays without undone projects looming overhead.