As the Christmas break edges closer, people start to lose motivation at work. We can’t blame them; it’s the end of the year and they’re just eager to take time off to de-stress and recharge. Unfortunately, work still needs to be done before we go on holidays. If you’re struggling to stay motivated and productive at work, here are a few things you can do to get yourself back on track.
Plan Ahead And Don’t Forget The Minor Details
You don’t want to leave anything hanging for when you start work again in the new year, so you’ll want to wrap your tasks up so that there are no loose strings.
It’s easy enough to write up a to-do list but the key point here is to make sure you write down the minute details for each task. That way you’ll know exactly what needs to be accomplished and even if you can’t avoid carrying work into 2017, it’ll be easier for you to pick up where you left off.
Treat Yourself
If you’re at work scrolling through websites to look for destinations and activities for your holiday, you can use your findings as part of a ‘fun points’ rewards system. Think Productive, a company that specialises in productivity workshops, suggests using this system to link work tasks with your holiday checklist:
“Reached inbox zero on Friday afternoon? Reward yourself with going out and getting that new pair of sunglasses you wanted. Beaten the project deadline? Reward yourself with booking an excursion to do on your trip when you get home that evening.”
Feel free to customise the checklist and the rewards. The best thing about this approach is you’re killing two birds with one stone here: you’re getting work done and you’re organising your holiday.
Clean Your Workspace
A clean workspace will minimise distractions and make it more pleasant for you to work at. Depending on what industry you operate in, work tends to slow down during the Christmas period so take this opportunity to declutter and give your desk a good cleaning. You should clean up your virtual workspace as well by clearing out icons on your computer desktop and organising files into neat folders.
If you need some help with this, we have an infographic on tidying up your physical and digital workspace that you can refer to.
Take Regular Breaks
You should be doing this on a daily basis at work anyway but it’s especially important during the lead up to Christmas when your motivation levels have taken a beating. Taking breaks can actually help improve productivity (in fact, it serves as the basis for the Pomodoro productivity technique). A short break between tasks will suffice. Founder of All Top Startups Thomas Oppong said:
“Go for a short walk, read a book, or listen to a podcast. Choose a mind-clearing activity that works best for you. Your brain needs a short break to recuperate, and then you are ready to move on to another task.”
How are you preparing yourself for the holiday season? What are you doing to stay motivated and productive? Let us know in the comments.
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