Things To Do During Your Holiday Work Schedule

Regardless of whether you take one day or a week for the holidays, there is definitely a different attitude in the workplace during this time of year. Until January 2nd most people are still in "holiday mode." If you are at work between now and the end of the year, here are a few suggestions on how to make the best use of your time:

• Clean up. A clean and orderly work area is always a motivator to get to work on the right task and not be so distracted. Use the old TRAF acronym as you clean up: Trash, Refer, Act and File to get things in order.


• Reflect. Take a moment to think about the activities of the year. What have you learned? What wisdom gained do you need to "carry over" to this year's projects and plans?


• Create your lineup for 2012. Get a head start on planning projects and tasks for the new year. Not just the task, but how to best accomplish it. When you are juggling elephants the tendency is simply to do it the quickest way you can. There may be a way that takes a little longer, but could yield better results.


• Connect. This may be the time to build a better relationship with one or more of the "performers" in your work area. Whose support do you need as you look to your goals for 2012?


• Set some goals. Yes, it's cliche, but it is the time to more fully plan what you want to accomplish in 2012. In just a few days the elephants will once again come running through the door and you're going to need to have your "acts" together if you don't want them to crush the outcomes that are most important to you.

"Johnny, It is Time to Practice"

You rushed home after a long day of school. You were thinking about all the fun things that you were going to do or the TV show that you wanted to watch. You pulled open the door, threw your books on the couch and were headed for your room when you heard the voice of your Mother from the kitchen, "Johnny, it's time to practice the piano." Oh no, not the piano!

It is an interesting fact that the best way to learn to play the piano is practice, practice, practice. It takes repetition to learn and improve. It is the same with a number of other skills; it takes time, practice and repetition. The challenge becomes finding the time and that you no longer have Mom there to remind/force you to practice.

If you want to learn a new skill, try blocking out 15-30 minutes a day, at a specific time, to learn and practice. Actually schedule it in your planner or electronic device so that you are reminded that it is time to focus on that talent. Protect that time. When others ask you if you are available, tell them that you already have something scheduled at that time. Whether it is learning to play the piano, writing a book, learning a new language, starting a home business or learning how to create your own website - block out the time and get started.

What's REALLY Scary

On this, the day when all manner of "evil" is displayed to try and scare others, we offer you a question that can strike more terror into an adult than any zombie, ghost or strange noise. The question...

In your struggle to get it all done, what is NOT getting done?

Why not use this day to acknowledge that you can't get it all done and that you need to prioritize your tasks based on your values or purpose?

You know what is even scarier than this question? An increasing list of things that aren't getting done because you don't start taking positive action-NOW!

Go to the Bottom of Things

We talk a lot about distractions such as email, phone calls, people interrupting you, having a cluttered workspace, etc. But, have you ever considered that having too many things to do can be a big distraction as well? If you are worried about all the things you have to do you may find it difficult to be focused, thorough and able to do individual tasks to the best of your ability.

Consider the words of Lord Chesterfield, "Whatever you do, do it to the purpose; do it thoroughly, not superficially. Go to the bottom of things. Any thing half done, or half known, is in my mind, neither done nor known at all. Nay, worse, for it often misleads."

If you find that you're doing things "superficially", consider these recommendations:

• Take the time each day to write down the things that you need to get done. Get them out of your head and down on paper
• From your list of things to do, determine what you have time to accomplish today. This is your list to focus on
• Now that you have a smaller list (hopefully it is smaller), slow down, focus and do it right the first time

There are so many great opportunities that you can and should fully engage in. Don't allow your sometime overwhelming list of things to do "mislead", distract or slow you down.

Not More Than 15 Minutes

A survey by software company Harmon.ie found that 45% of workers say they can't go more than 15 minutes, on average, without an interruption. Amazing! While 15 minutes is a significant amount of time, it doesn't allow for alot of high mental focus. About the time you have reached the point where you are experiencing a breakthrough in thought-WHAM-you get interrupted.

If you are someone who experiences frequent interruptions and need more than 15 minutes without them, try some of these simple tips:

• Turn off technology around you-including e mail notification, phones and any computer alerts
• Move to an area where you aren't as visually distracted by things around you
• Go to a place where you coworkers can not as readily find you
• Start some instrumental music on your mp3 player (words tend to be distracting) and use your ear buds to tune out the noise around you
• Before you start to work on something that requires focus, ask yourself-what are the most likely things to distract me in the next hour? Once you have an answer, work on managing those things first.

Who knows what amazing idea was going to show up at the 16th minute?