And so this is Christmas… and we can finally put our current project aside, forget about office politics (looming exams), turn off the work mobile (lock away your textbooks in a cupboard), Christmas cookie 2sit on the sofa and enjoy time with our nearest and dearest, who have been chewing our ears about spending more time with them for ages.

 

Great! I am very much looking forward to that.

 

 

Or, hang on a sec! I’ve just pledged to publish a new course on Udemy so I have a 30-day deadline looming. It’s actually 28 days now and I know the recording part will take me much more time that I thought, because my software always plays tricks on me, and then there is my perfectionism to battle with.

So, all in all, I can’t quite put it all aside for the next 2 weeks.

If you, like me, are a bit of a, you know – work enthusiast, or you just have an important project on the go (and exam) with a looming deadline, it may be hard to you to completely switch off and relax. What shall we do over the holiday period then?

The ‘general public’ advice is to relax, forget about work and spend some quality time with family and friends, at long last. But this is sometimes unrealistic, some people do have important deadlines, some people just cannot forget about work – for some this is so hard they may seriously stressed if they don’t get their daily dose of work-related stress*. Crazy as it may sound, it is reality for some people.
So if you are one of them, like me, here is what I suggest:

 

  1. Consider the price of letting go of/switching off for the holiday time

Think about all those previous Christmases, or holidays you have disappointed your family; or all those promises you have made to your spouse, partner, children, parents, friends, other people – to spend some time with them during holiday. And then think about your project. Ask yourself and answer honestly:

– Do you have enough time? If you put the project aside for a week (just the 2-3 days of Christmas), would you still be able to catch up on the work and still meet the deadline?
– Is the deadline negotiable? Or is it absolute (this is very rare…)?
– Are you likely to have ‘withdrawals*’ if you don’t work on the project (on anything)?
– Are you likely to lose interest, or inspiration? How hard would it be to recover it?
– Is anyone else depending on you getting you part done in time? (eg. A colleague of your will be working on her/his part once you have finished yours)?
– What’s the worst that can happen if you switch off for the week?
– What is the price of not meeting the deadline? Is anyone’s life, health, or happiness at stake? Is anyone going to lose any money? Promotion? Important contacts?

 

  1. Adjust your routine

If, for whatever reasons, you cannot just turn off for Christmas, consider adjusting your routine and your functioning during the holiday period to accommodate for ‘holiday spirit’ and family time. Remember, you need to adjust to the holiday routine of your household, your family/friends, not the other way round! It’s them who are making sacrifices (you are making them do it), so please be mindful. Since it’s our nearest and dearest, who are most likely to suffer if we continue to work, you need to take them into consideration. Try to be as accommodating to their needs and wants as you can, or even a little step further.

Chose the time to work on your project so that it does not affect/disrupt family/friends plans. I will be working on my course mainly in the morning, so that my work gear is all put away by the time my family gets up; you may want to consider getting up earlier than you would normally do during holidays, but this may be the price you need to pay for it. So roll on 5.30am (that includes 15minutes lie in ‘holiday allowance’ for me).

Chose the place to work so that it’s not right ‘in their faces’; if you have to work during Christmas (or any other holiday season), don’t ‘rub it in’; be discrete with your work gear.

– If you already have some other ‘time allowances’ for ‘me time’ – consider using it to work on your project. In our household we have a ‘quiet time’ routine after lunch (on weekends and days off) – it originated from lunchtime nap time when our daughter was a baby, and it continues for now – a blessing for parents of a little busy chatterbox. This is traditionally time (1.5hr) when we all can just do whatever we like as long as we don’t disrupt other’s ‘quiet time’, I will be using this time to work on my new course.

 

3. Negotiate with your family/friends/ significant others

If you are unable to do it in any other way, or you need more time than you can ‘create’ through adjusting your routine (just remember, since this is supposed to be a non-working time, it is you who need to make sacrifices), try negotiating some more time with your nearest and dearest.

Consider their plans before you suggest how much time and when you would like to take out of family schedule.
– Try to be as little disruptive as possible; ask them what they think it would be least disruptive to them.
– Consider NOT doing it every day; taking 45-60 minutes every other day instead of 30 minutes every day should be less disruptive for your family, but also more useful from the productivity point of view (particularly if you need more than a couple of minutes to ‘warm up’).
– Once you all agree on when and how much time you can spend working on your project (exam prep), communicate it clearly (you may want to put it on the calendar, so that they can see it) and stick to itwork in these slots and not more; try to make it discrete; again ‘don’t rub it in’

 

 

  1. Make the most of your work time

Whether you’re doing it when your family is asleep, or you have negotiated 60 minutes twice a week, make the most of it:

plan ahead what you are going to do,
list your tasks and prioritise them (urgent and important first!);
get prepared so you don’t waste your time looking for stuff
don’t procrastinate – use The Pomodoro technique, Internet-blocking apps, or any other tricks and tips if you have to (check my Get it done! course for some suggestions)
manage potential disruptions and distractions – turn your phone, messengers, email notification off; (check the section on managing disruption and interruptions for more suggestions in my Get it done! course)

 

  1. Whatever happens, try to enjoy your holidays

    Enjoy your time with your family and friends; make sure you have some R&R time, too. After all, a tired brain is a useless brain. Get enough sleep, have some exercise and don’t eat too much.

 

Happy holiday time!

 

*Ps. The word “workaholic”/”workaholics” have been used here ‘tongue in cheek’; if you suspect you may be suffering from addiction to work/workaholism you should seek advice from your health professional.