So much to do before the end of the year…make it as easy on yourself as you can!
There’s only a couple of weeks to go in 2014.Two in fact!
If you’re like many people there’s just a little bit going on (massive understatement?) and you’re trying to work out how you’ll manage to fit everything in?
There are all of the end of year work deadlines – “this needs to be done before the end of the year”, “that needs to be finished before Christmas”, “so-and-so needs this done before Christmas”, it’s the end of the financial quarter, there’s preparation for end-of-year performance reviews and the inevitable requests for “can you get this finished before you go on holidays?” Here in Australia there’s an extra urgency as Christmas marks the start of the summer holiday period and the country virtually goes on leave for January. So everyone is running around trying to get work completed before key decision makers and people in the business disappear for 4 weeks and the country comes to a stand-still.
Then there’s the work parties and pre-Christmas networking catch-ups. And this is all just at work! There’s also presents to buy, family gatherings, drinks/dinners/coffees with friends and end of year events to attend.
And if you’re like many people…you might be a little tired and hanging out for the end of the year – looking forward to celebrations, the break from work or the chance to wind down 2014 and get your plans back on track in 2015.
(If you’re feeling full of beans and don’t feel you have too much on your plate this blog post might not be for you ☺)
Many of us are in the same boat and people understand that this time if year can be a stretch. But you don’t want to wear yourself out. And you don’t want to make mistakes at work or let things go that are important – and have any long term or serious implications for your work or your credibility.
Here’s 7 tips to help get through work over the next couple of weeks so that you’re in a good place to start 2015!
1. Prioritize
I always find a list is a good place to start. But a mind map or a conversation with someone genuinely helpful will work just as well.
Work out what is the most important and absolutely has to get done. Prioritize in order, use a rating system, number 1 to 10 – whatever works for you.
If this is a challenge because you have so much you’ve been asked to do – have a chat with your manager and ask them what their priorities are for you to get finished.
2. Plan
Once you know what absolutely has to be done. Plan how you are going to do it. Be realistic and take into consideration how many working days you have available to actually do the work (not many!)
Do a rough timetable of when you will be able to get the work done.
Work out what you think you can do in a day. Then take at least one thing off your list. We always seem to think we can get more done than we actually can (or is that just me?)
3. Delegate or ask (nicely!) for help
If your prioritizing and planning doesn’t get you to a realistic workload. Ask for some help.
It might all need to be done. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be done by you.
Your team, your colleagues, even your manager are all potential people to help you out and lighten the load. You might even find that they are very happy to help and enjoy the chance to get involved in what you’re doing or be pleased that you trust them to do something for you. And if it’s your personal commitments that are overloading the plate – buy the food you need to take to a family catch up rather than feeling you need to create something from scratch, shop online, ask someone to pick up presents for you. Be resourceful!
4. Avoid distractions
Emails, phone calls, text message, dare I say Facebook – these are all distractions and interruptions to getting what is important done.
But they have something else in common – they all have an off button!
Close down your email, turn off your phone (or if that is a step too far at least put it on silent), don’t have multiple browsers with Facebook, Twitter and a news site open. (Again, may be just me?)
Remove the distractions – even if it’s for an hour or two so you can get something done and cross it off your list.
5. Pace Yourself and get enough sleep
Social activities – work and personal really ramp up in December. Don’t miss out on anything that’s important but don’t stretch yourself to the limit and try and fit too much in. Eat well, sleep well and generally being good to yourself will make you feel a whole lot better. And get more done!
6. Reflect
When there is still so much more to do it can be easy to lose sight of how much you’ve done. When you’ve got a few minutes (come on, you know you’ll be in a line waiting to get your coffee or twiddling your fingers whilst the printer reboots) have a quick think back over the highlights of 2014.
What are the things you’ve achieved that stand out for you? What are you proud of? What do you look back on and feel pleased about?
This is not just about slapping yourself on the back – when you can see what you’ve done in the perspective of a longer time period it can really help you put what you have to do in the next couple of weeks in context.
And if you take an extra few minutes to write them down it can give you a jump start on preparing for your new year performance review or some dot points to add to your resume under key achievements. Win- win!
7. Take some time out to enjoy this time of year
There are lots of happy occasions and lovely things going on at this time of year – make sure you build in some time so that you can enjoy these…the work will still be there in 2015!
And above all else – breath.
Deeply.
It helps you live.
You’ll be good to go!
Like more career tips?
[mc4wp_form id=”1429″]
Karen Adamedes is an experienced executive, author and career-tipster. In her most recent book ‘Professional in Pajamas: 101 Tips for Working from Home’ Karen shares many of the insights she has gained during a decade of working from home, where she has negotiated multi-million dollar deals, led national teams and delivered major projects. She does admit to sometimes working in her pajamas.
Leave a Reply