hour glass with red sand

Business owners and busy professionals struggle year-round to achieve the elusive work-life balance, but their struggle becomes more difficult to overcome as the holidays approach. They are pulled in what seems to be a million different directions, especially as they are under intense pressure to achieve their year-end goals and spend the holidays with friends and family (and lose valuable work time in the process). While there is not a single easy fix, we offer some suggestions for achieving business goals and holiday bliss that should make this balancing act a little easier to manage.

Look for Free Time

Of course, we all say that we just don’t have time, but if you sit down and honestly think about how you spend your day, you more than likely will find at least one thing that is stealing time from you. Common minute stealers are commuting, meetings, using social media, watching television, or responding to email. Then, find a solution to eliminate or change your minute stealers.

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For example, you may be able to work from home for a few hours a day to avoid the busiest travel times. You may download an app that helps you stop spending so much time on your smartphone. Or, you may carve out a certain time each day to check and respond to email so you force yourself to keep your replies short and to the point.

One other way to use your free time more wisely is to take advantage of your commute or holiday travel time to be more productive. If you aren’t the one driving, you can work while you ride by using that time to reply to emails, make to-do lists, adjust your calendar, or even get your social media fix for the day so you’re less tempted to take a peek at work.

Set a Designated Time for Work at Home

If you do take off for a couple of weeks to travel to visit with loved ones for the holidays, you most likely will need to take some of that time to tie up loose ends and achieve your final year-end goals. Sometimes, family members don’t understand why you need to work, or there are too many family members around for you to be very productive, so in those cases you should take your work elsewhere. Find a quiet coffee shop or local library and designate a corner as your workspace.

You will feel less guilty about working if you set boundaries and designate time to work and let everyone know that you must work during those times so you can focus on them and the holiday fun when you are together. The key to this strategy is to hold yourself accountable and work only during your designated time. Set your voicemail and email reply to a holiday greeting when you’re not working and keep your phone out of sight to avoid temptations to check messages and email when you are spending time with loved ones.

Take Care of Yourself

As the stress builds because you are trying to do it all to achieve the work-life balance during the holidays, it is important that you take care of yourself so you can enjoy the holidays when you finally get your break from work. Don’t put off sleeping just to make more time in your day. When you don’t get quality rest, you can’t be as productive or as festive as you’d like to be. And, sleep relieves to your physical and psychological stress so you can be reenergized to start again fresh the next morning. Getting enough sleep also helps you stay healthy; the last thing you want is to come down with something as you are trying to reach your goals and enjoy the holidays.

It’s also important to eat well while you’re trying to achieve your business goals and holiday bliss this season. It may be tempting to live on coffee and Christmas treats, but you won’t be doing yourself any favors if you are not eating healthy foods and drinking water to give your body the fuel it needs to keep up with your chaotic year-end schedule.

By taking advantage of every minute, setting a designated time to work, and taking care of yourself, you will have a better chance of meeting your year-end goals and having time to spend with your loved ones to enjoy the holidays.

Image via Pixabay by nile