Four Productive Things You Can Do Over The Holiday Season To Get A Head Start For The Next Busy Season

Whether you’re taking time off over the holiday season or you’re working through - if you’re looking for ways how to get a headstart for the new year to come  - this episode is for you as I share with you some activities you can do to make the most of this usually more quiet time – because there’s only so much Netflix you can binge on, right (RIGHT!?) 

So if you’re ready to start this new year with a bang and feel ready to roll when the clock ticks over, then let’s go!

I don’t know about you but I can only sit still for a day or two before I get bored. Currently- I'm experiencing the opposite as I’m in Europe with my partner Don who has recovered well after his chemo earlier this year and we’re spending time with my family.

Now - for those of you who know me and think I've always got a million things going on and running a million miles an hour - well, you haven’t met my parents yet!

Our itinerary for December was developed and set in stone in - now get this - July! Yep, July and not just a rough agenda. It’s a flashed out- planned out by the hour agenda and doesn’t have a spare hour left Lucky I still get up at crazy o’clock, also on holidays as i just love my early mornings and this is why i can still stick to most of my routines that keep me sane 🙂

So if you’re thinking you don’t want to just bum around, lying at the pool for those in the Southern hemisphere or seeking all the ways to warm yourself up in the Northern hemisphere, here are a few activities that can pay off bug times and get you a head start for the new year before everyone else slowly but surely returns to reality.

1. Clean up your online profiles

Chances are - the revamp and update of your online profiles, in particular LinkedIn - has been on the to do list for quite some time but also found itself on the backseat more often than not.

Now is the time to update your experience section with new skills you’ve acquired over the last year, the additional tasks and responsibilities you’ve worked on, the volunteer activities you may have taken up. 

Your online profile is going to become a key asset for your authority positioning in 2023 so better get it done now when it’s a little more quiet and before the rush of BAU kicks in again.

If you want some help with upgrading your Linkedin profile, I have you Academy gives you the exact blueprint of a stellar profile including templates for outreaches, easy ways to create content and best ways to build and foster your network. You’d be surprised how many people are online over the holiday period as they have now more time and truth told - comes January and it’s back to reality again, we see every single year an increase in enquiries reg a new job. So trust me when i say - get ready now and prime your profile for the year to come. Really important is to focus your ‘about me’ on where you want to go next rather than just what you’ve done to date and where you’re right now. That’s exactly what keeps you stuck at a level.

2. Learn new skills

One of the most productive uses of your time during holidays - which is also the thing that I am super passionate about, is broadening your skill set and increasing your competitive edge through additional skill and tool sets.

Don’t roll your eyes and turn off here - I want you to rethink learning and make it not only enjoyable but also sustainable for when the busy season kicks in again.

I want you to rethink learning and shift from a ‘need to be in a classroom scenario’ or ‘has to be a commitment to a degree thinking’ to micro credentials and on the go learning.

Listening to podcasts is great and clearly - you're listening to that so you know the benefits already. But - i want you to take it up a notch and set up a system, like a notes section on your phone or use notes apps like evernote etc to write down 3-5 takeaways from every episode you listen to, courses you go through, videos you watch or books you read. Not only will you be able to remember it a lot easier and also more predictably but you also set yourself up for success already to use these insights to create your own content.

Which brings me into tip 3 and that is:

3. Batch content creation

The best and quickest ways to establish yourself as the Go-To, the trusted authority in your space is by creating and sharing content. Too often i hear how little time people have to create content but guess what - now when you don’t have to attend meetings (or at least not as many), you don’t have to get ready and spend god knows how long on makeup and hair for the ladies or lose time on the commute - now is the time to sit down for a few hours and commit to creating 5-10 posts that you can get ready to post throughout January.

If you need some ideas with that - or even better a step-by-step guide with a ton of resources as well as ready to copy-and-paste captions to make it a lot easier and takes out all the excuses to not post - I’ve got you covered there as well. The content creation hub has seen a facelift and update - i’ll put the ink in the shownotes as you will see - it’s a next level resource! It’s a full blown Trello board that has the strategy, tactics and tools all at once and you can easily access on your desktop. If you want a bundle for the LinkedIn academy and the content creation  hub - then you’re in luck as this is available for a reduced price over the holiday season! So you see hopefully - there is zero excuse anymore to not do it

And speaking of accessing it on your desktop - this brings me to tip 4:

4. Workspace clean up + update 

Honestly, one of the best productive things you can do for yourself is to clean up your workspace and i mean - get serious with minimizing what you have on and around your desk as well as on your desktop.

Clutter also impacts your brain and clutter your thoughts so make this a priority over the holidays. For me, I have a very simple and minimalist desk set up with only a few essentials, and these are:

2 monitors, a laptop stand that’s a little elevated, a big ring light behind the desk, my microphone and a candle. Plus- my hardcopy diary - that’s it.

Also my desktop is now very organised and I use project management software to keep myself on track as well as keep the communication with my team neat and easy to track.

I personally use Trello for my personal planning schedule and where i track progress with clients, put in ideas for podcasts etc and then I use trello to collaborate with my team where things are at and we basically have another yearly calendar and boards with the various tasks there that we can see quickly where everyone is at and what’s on for the week to come based on the monthly goal that we’ve set.

Finally, we use Asana to chat and avoid emails as a team to not clutter our inboxes. So you see - it’s all about minimising the noise and optimisng the output.

So, there you have it!

4 productive things you can do at home during the holiday season that will help you and your career in the long term.