Productivity During the Holiday Months

During the wedding season, it's easy to keep productivity high because I follow a format for my days. I cull, edit, post a blog, set up Instagram posts, etc.. But during the off season, all of this changes. There are no longer weekends filled with beautiful receptions or romantic engagements. The off season falls around November and December for us, which means that the weekends are now booked with shopping and family. It's a time that I absolutely love, but to be honest, the holidays completely take every ounce of my energy. What should be a time to regroup and plan for the new year becomes laying on the couch with a plate of mashed potatoes.

I struggle big time with being productive during this time of the year. All I want to do is drink hot cocoa and watch Christmas movies, but that's not realistic. Though my mission during the off season definitely goes through some shifts, I make sure that I pay close attention to what I'm doing throughout the day. From list making to "treat yo-self" rewards, I make sure I touch on all of tips below in order to jump start my productivity. This allows me to continue to accomplish all that I want to do, while still enjoying this time of the year.

Setting goals for yourself

Goals are the biggest thing that keep me in a steady workflow. When we have weddings, the goals are to cull a certain number of images before the day is through, or organize photos for the Monday wedding blog. My goals during the time of the year when it's easy to be lazy, though, change. Instead of having weddings to blog I'm instead setting a goal to post one blog a week of either tips or personal stuff.

Another goal during the off-season is to submit a wedding to a local blog by the end of the day. Seeing the colors and the couples again gets me pumped up. That reigniting of excitement is key to shaking off the holiday food coma.

Give yourself a reward after accomplishing a goal

This is when I take the time to either eat a cookie or play a song on the ukulele. I like to think that by positively reinforcing my actions, I'll do more work. Or I probably just really like sweets and want an excuse to eat them :P. Seriously, though, when your child or a friend does something awesome, you like to cheer for them. You can absolutely cheer for yourself in the form of fun. Also, if your reaching your goals, why don't you deserve a treat?

Leave yourself productivity notes

The Monday after Thanksgiving (conveniently the day I'm posting this blog) is the absolute worst. Having any length of time off makes me slow down so much. It's difficult to even get out of bed at a reasonable time, so sitting down to do work feels impossible. What typically helps me is, before I go to bed, I'll leave a note to myself that will either have encouraging words or ideas that were clouding my brain. I wake up ready to dive into my day thanks to the encouragement or because I'm really stoked about the idea I had. I don't spent much time with these notes in the morning. Their main purpose is to fire me up and get me going.

Plan your day

I usually write down what I want to do for the day. Even if that is eating lunch, I will put it in my timeline. Adding even the simplest of things keeps my focus in check and makes me less likely to stray with my todos. I cannot imagine what I would be doing without my plan for the day, considering it's very easy for me to get distracted. Also, checking off each thing you have listed for your day is a great feeling.

This tip does go hand-in-hand with setting goals, but it's much more focused on your time for a single day rather than the broader concepts.

Take breaks!

Trying to force productivity is never good. If any activity ever feels disingenuous, you don't feel compelled to complete it. That feeling is even worse when you are doing it to yourself. The holidays are already making you feel sloth-like, you don't need to be working against yourself on top of that. For this, I say take a breather. Relax for 15 minutes and get your head back in the game. You may shock yourself with how many great ideas you come up with during your rest.

If you are afraid of sitting down and never getting back up, download this amazing app called Pomello. It's completely changed the way I approach work!

I hope that these tips come in handy during this holiday season for you. If you have any tips to add feel free to leave a comment below the lazy Pony pup!