Friday, December 9, 2011

8 Ways to a Better Holiday Season

I know how crazy people feel right now and the last thing you want to hear about is how productive people do what they do. Well, I skimmed a Yahoo Shine article online and thought I could condense it into something digestible that wouldn't make anyone feel like ONE MORE "should" had been piled on their plate!

Here is the Readers' Digest version of the 8 things that will help you feel more productive and, likely, more sane this season.

Whether you work from home, have a desk or are running around in your car:

1) Take breaks. The article recommends a book called "The Power of Slow" by Christine Hohlbaum.
2) Reset your mood. If the day is starting out rough, take 5 minutes to reset yourself with a small ritual or breathing technique.
3) Eat light, healthy foods at several intervals instead of a heavy lunch.
4) Have a flexible To-Do list; accept that plans get changed (even an airplane en route is off course much of the time).
5) Use technology with intent: set personal email and surfing limits.
6) Balance workload doing minor organizational tasks in small chunks in between intensive work blocks.
7) Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
8) Say no to whiners, complainers and distracting people (wear headphones if you have to!). As a matter of fact, when my kids wanted to whine on and on about something, that is exactly what I did while singing full volume to my favorite tune (probably can't do that in your cubicle, but the theory is sound).

Happy Productive Holidays!

Amy Rohrer
Executive Director

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