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Though this is normal, we all deserve to enjoy each season. For many, feeling productive during this time helps to promotes self-fulfillment and happiness. With a few simple tips, you can stay on top of your work and still enjoy the festivities. Productivity shouldn’t be a daunting task or cause added stress. Instead, make a short to-do list and stick to it, set aside specific times for work and relaxation (emphasis on relaxation), and don't be afraid to say no to invitations that will interfere with your plans. 

To help you stay productive this holiday season, we took the time to make a list of productivity tips so you wouldn’t have to!

Set Boundaries

This may be one of the most important tips on this list because it is useful for much more than just seasonal productivity. Setting boundaries is essential to your health and well-being. To stay on track, we have to avoid anything—any thoughts or anyone—that may steer us astray. This includes our own self-doubts and sabotage. 

While you can’t help what others put out to eat during holiday festivities, if you have made a goal for yourself to not overindulge on sweets during Christmas events, you can bring your own snacks. It’s simple to carry small, reusable bags of your favorite treats—like dark chocolate covered almonds—with you to events. This way, when you get the urge to overindulge (whatever that means to you), you can help yourself stay true to your goal by switching to your own personal sweet treat whenever you want.

Time blocking is another factor to consider when setting boundaries this holiday season. For example, If you know your best friend wants to go Christmas shopping when you have a major deadline, plan ahead. Tell them you only have time to shop from 2:00-4:30, and that you’ll need to be home by 5:00 to finish your assignment. This is an example of both setting boundaries and creating strong time management strategies. Time blocking may not be the most fun way to stay productive, but it is still essential.

Set Small Goals

It’s usually easier to set a big goal than it is to achieve it. Big goals can get overwhelming—fast.  This makes it easy to feel unaccomplished and disappointed. Feelings of disappointment can particularly become more pronounced during the holidays when expectations and familial pressures are more present. You should never feel guilty for indulging in cultural holidays. Unfortunately, guilt and disappointment are trick emotions that creep up when they shouldn’t. To prevent these hurtful feelings, set, follow, and celebrate small goals.  

Small goals are easier to manage, less likely to intimidate you, and more likely to help you feel accomplished. For example, instead of promising that you’ll workout each day in December, commit to working out two or three times a week.

Continue or Substitute 

If you are a part of the lucky few who already have the skills or routine to stay productive, continue! Do not let the change in seasons or early darkening skies deter you from the best version of yourself that you’ve already put into motion. 

For example, if you took a daily walk each evening in the summer, but do not want to walk each evening in the fall due to the early darkness, try substituting that evening walk for a nightly inside yoga session. This way you may still feel the satisfaction of remaining connected to your body and being active. 

Congratulate Yourself

Every single accomplishment deserves recognition. Whether you have perfectly baked a fruit cake for the first time or ran the Christmas 5k, you are deserving of applause from yourself. Always remember to take a moment and think: “I am proud of me. I did this. I accomplished my goal.” Remembering yourself will likely help you stay on track and strengthen your confidence, which are both beneficial to productivity. 

Use Tools

It’s okay to need a little extra help to stay on track. After all, one of the greatest tools we have are calendars. A calendar is the perfect tool for those of us who need help planning ahead or setting reminders for due dates. For an on-the-go type person, you can use your phone calendar and reminders. However, there are many others who benefit from physical calendars.

An oversized calendar that you can hang on your wall to physically see your goals might be just the motivation you're looking to stay productive. These types of calendars can be purchased anywhere, but one of our favorites would be the Great Big Calendar. Hang this in an area you know you’ll see daily and be sure to keep it up-to-date!

Enjoy the Season

While boundaries are a necessity, do not be so strict on yourself that you forget to enjoy the moment. This time of year is a favorite season for many of us and for good reason. There are so many season-specific activities that you will remember for years and decades to come. Do not be so hyper-fixated on any one or multiple goals that you do not leave room to engage in what is sometimes a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go to the celebration! True productivity depends firstly on your inner happiness.

Recap, but Don’t Regret

We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all procrastinated. And we’ve all fallen short of a goal or two (or many). It’s okay. Look back on what went wrong without being too hard on yourself. Utilize any mishap to your advantage. It is rare that something happens for no reason. Sometimes that misstep was a redirection towards the right path for you. Focusing on what you feel are failures will only hurt yourself and your confidence, which may likely cast you even further from your goals. Focus on trying again and applaud yourself for getting back up. You deserve it!

Rest

Productivity without rest is a dangerous game. It is a game that will likely leave you exhausted and wondering how you got there in the first place. Getting a good night’s sleep every night will allow you a better chance of feeling rested and with a sense of motivation to conquer each day and goal. Taking a break after accomplishing—and of course celebrating—a goal will help you feel rejuvenated, confident, and ready to reach the next goal. With less chance of the burnout you would feel if you immediately jumped from goal to goal without pausing to breathe, you can recharge and celebrate you. 

Staying productive, especially when the seasons change and seasonal depression is more likely, is hard for so many of us. Learning how to stay productive may sound like an impossible feat; fortunately, it’s not. Winter productivity can be as simple as putting one ornament on the Christmas tree. Trust me, you deserve to feel as accomplished as you truly are.