7 Ways to Maintain Your Career Motivation Over the Holidays
By Molly Barnes, Digital Nomad Life
Sometimes it seems there’s a virtual black hole between November and the end of the year that devours work productivity. This time of year is usually a chaotic rush of holiday parties, cross-country travel, and visiting friends and family, all of which can impose distractions and make it difficult to focus on day-to-day duties at work. Plus, most workplaces start to slow down over the holidays, which also can hinder career motivation. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid the void. Follow these tips to help maintain your motivation and set yourself up for success in the new year.
Keep a To-Do List
Keeping track of what needs to be accomplished each day can be hard, especially with holiday parties and shopping thrown into the mix. It is fine to get holly-jolly for the season with friends and family, but don't let your work obligations fall by the wayside. Now more than ever, a to-do list is imperative.
Write down the tasks that you need to accomplish each day and work through them methodically, crossing off each completed task as the day progresses. Keep in mind that a to-do list is a flexible document that will always be changing. It's OK to not complete your list every day, but make sure you move all the tasks to the top that need to be completed first thing the next morning.
Cultivate Your Career Track
Take advantage of the off-season in the office to invest some time in your greater career. This is the perfect time to enroll in an industry-specific class and keep your career trajectory on target. Just as work slows down, you can fill the gap with auxiliary classes and education. Not only can this advance your career, but you'll also bolster your knowledge base with beneficial information that can help you in the long run.
Adding new certifications, continuing education classes, or extra training to your resumé are great ways to improve your capabilities at work — and even gain some attention for an attractive new promotion. If you don’t know where to start, the Apochromatik blog is a great place to find inspirational and instructive Videos of the Week, podcasts, free webinars, and blog posts to help you learn new tips to build and enhance your career.
Improve Your Tech
When work activity comes grinding to a halt, take advantage of the extra time by improving your processes and technology. Start by backing up your files — this should be a regular habit, but if not, then take the time to do it now. Next, download the latest software updates to keep your computer running smoothly in the new year. Take the time to conduct a virtual cleanup, organizing files and folders on your computer. This is the perfect time to take advantage of cloud storage. (Depending on your office’s data protocols, you may only be able to do this with your personal files, but even that can make a big difference.)
Not only will organizing your files in the cloud free up some space on your hard drive, but it also can give you the opportunity to put all your files in one easy-to-access location. Files there can be accessed simply with an internet connection from anywhere in the world. Plus, you can share access with authorized users to make collaboration with team members super simple.
Take Control of Finances
As the year slows and you have more time to focus on your personal life, take time to give your finances a quick review. Create a budget to understand where your money has gone the past year, and tweak the budget to set financial goals for the coming year. Learn what your credit score is, and understand ways you can improve your score moving forward. The end of the year can also be the perfect time to negotiate a raise.
By taking control of your own finances you can kindle some financial motivation that often translates to your career too. The confidence and empowerment you'll get from being on top of your financial outlook can help create motivation in the work world.
Break Up the Routine
Doing the same tasks day in and day out can become monotonous on a good day, let alone in the painfully slow holiday season at work. This time of year is perfect for mixing things up by breaking up your usual routine.
Try taking a different route to work in the morning. Listen to a new podcast on the way. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Visit a new restaurant for lunch. Not only will some new steps in your day’s routine keep things fresher, but also you may find the chance to learn something new about your office, city, or career.
Start Fresh
Sometimes the end-of-year slowdown is just enough time to realize that your career, location, or current work-life balance just isn't working out. If you're unhappy with how your career and life are going on your current path, it may be time for a bigger change. Whether you start putting together a plan to move to a new city, a new role, or change up another part of your life, the end of the year can be an ideal time to reassess.
If a new position — whether in your current city or a new one — is on your radar, get a jump on the process by enlisting resources, such as career transition coaching with Apochromatik or help with your application materials from ResumeRedo.com.
Review Your Year
We all naturally tend to examine our lives at the end of the year, taking stock of accomplishments, friends and other contacts we’ve made, and ways we’ve grown as people. Why not do the same through the lens of a career checkup? Start by taking a moment to think about everything you’ve accomplished in the past year. It may help to write it all down.
As humans, we have a tendency to focus on the negative aspects of our careers, but when we really think about it, we accomplish amazing feats all the time. Keeping a positive outlook about a job well done will help propel you into the new year with a fresh, determined, and confident mindset.
The holidays create the perfect recipe for distractions. Traveling, attending holiday parties, and visiting friends and family can pull your attention away from an office that already seems to be emptying out. It can be difficult to keep motivation as you go into the home stretch of the year, but following these easy tips can help you keep your motivation and momentum as you launch into the start of a fresh new year.
Molly Barnes is a full-time digital nomad. She works remotely, travels constantly, and explores different cities across the U.S. She started her site, www.digitalnomadlife.org as a resource for travelers, nomads, and remote workers.