5 Work-Life Balance Tips for the Holidays
By Margot Carmichael Lester, Staples® Contributing Writer Managing your professional and personal life is especially challenging at the end of the year, when the collision between business needs and family/social obligations leaves you feeling like you’ve been walloped by a rogue reindeer. Try one or more of these easy-to-implement work-life balance tips to stress less and accomplish more this holiday season:“It’s easier to digest ‘needing to work late’ during the day-to-day but in the holiday season you should lean into the ‘life’ side of things,” explains L.A.-based consultant Lior Krolewicz of Yael Consulting. Prepare for competing priorities by “writing out a plan to cover all the absolutely required obligations early,” he says. Use a special journal or notebook to capture deliverables/to-do’s for work, important social and family events, and crucial errands like shopping or baking. Then establish priorities, map out the time and make better decisions.
With coworkers taking time off and office and personal socializing eating into the day, it can be hard to find enough hours to complete critical year-end tasks. But it’s the season of giving, so don’t be shy about requesting help. Ask a coworker for an assist with a project or covering your phones for an hour. Enlist family members to do shopping, wrapping or addressing. And take advantage of professional services like house cleaning, landscaping and packing and shipping to ease your workload.
“It’s tempting to just crash,” says Karin Hurt, CEO of Laurel, MD-based Let's Grow Leaders. “Keeping to your healthy routine will help give you more energy during this busy time.” Strap on a health tracker and let holiday activities be your exercise. Gather friends for a holiday walk or ride (check out the decorations!) instead of cocktails. Ask your boss for an under-desk elliptical to burn calories even when you have to burn the midnight oil. And stash some healthy snacks in your desk so you’re not tempted by the festive food lurking in the breakroom.
One way to make sure you attend those important year-end events like sports tournaments or school pageants is to play a bigger role. “It sounds silly but it's easier for me to say. ‘I have to go coach my son's team’ than ‘I want to go watch my boy play baseball for two hours’,” admits Joe Procopio, chief product officer for Automated Insights in Durham, NC. This is a work-life balance tactic that’s hard for the boss to veto.
Between the last-minute requests and nonstop holiday music, it’s hard to think straight. Tuning out for a few minutes is a great way to recharge and reestablish work-life balance. Put on some headphones and retreat into your own world for a few minutes — at work and at home — and spritz a little air freshener in calming or holiday scent to make the minutes even more relaxing.