How to manage Christmas

When you work from home, and especially if it is your own company, deciding how much time to have off over the Christmas and holiday period can be quite tricky.

It may seem like everyone else has time off to be with their families or attend several company parties and you are chained to the desk.

A limited Christmas party schedule can be a challenge for the individual home worker and certainly emphasises the lonely side of being based at home. Of course there are still plenty of Christmas events you will be able to enjoy.

Take advantage of any networking parties. They are a great opportunity to get to know potential clients or customers (remember most people do business with people and companies they know and trust). If there are any industry associations regarding your business, make an effort to attend their Christmas parties and of course you must book in a party for your own Company. Go out and celebrate the success your have had this year.

Parties’ aside, it is necessary to also look at the practical side of Christmas and how you want to manage your business and agenda during this time.

Schedule

Either late November or early December sit down with your diary and plan out a schedule for the holiday period. There are several things to consider such as:

• How busy is your business during this period?
• What does the company expect from you?
• Do your customers close their office or have limited staff at Christmas?
• What do you need to accomplish in the next month?
• If you are slow in December but pick up in January, do you need to use the time to prepare?
• Do you have any family commitments?

Personal schedule

Now that you have pulled together all the important information, the first schedule to mark in your diary are the days off when you will be with the family. Share this information so your family will know when you are be free to spend time with them doing all the fun and stressful things of Christmas like eating too many mince pies and gift shopping.

It will also help to keep you in line so that once your ‘holidays’ start you won’t wander into the office to look after a few last minute items. Remember you have set those days aside and if you still worked in an office building would you travel all the way to the office during your holidays? Probably and hopefully not.

Work schedule

With your holidays in the diary and an understanding of what work needs to happen during the next few weeks, you will be able to set goals and put together a schedule. The schedule will incorporate everything. It can include:

• When and what you need to complete
• Any meetings or networking you need to attend
• When projects are due
• Who to send company Christmas cards to
• Absolutely every single detail.

Putting the effort into planning your time comes back in tenfold with greater productivity and time to enjoy Christmas.

Extra point

Of course the schedule will need regular updating throughout the month when new business arrives and plans change. But it will be far easier to adjust your main plan for the month than to fly by the seat of your pants.

By Rachael Ross
Purely Peppermint