If you read our Thanksgiving blog on the importance of spending downtime with family, you’ll know just how vital a relaxing family dinner can be towards your success. Whether you have complete control over your schedule as a freelancer, VA, or entrepreneur, or you work a 9-5, taking time off around the holiday season can be a hassle; a guilt loaded, stressful hassle. Lucky for you, we’re here to help with our top tips on how to plan to take time off over Christmas to make sure you get the well deserved R&R.
Planning ahead is critical when it comes to the holidays — as a small business owner and virtual assistant, this can often be a busy time for both you and your clients. We recommend booking your holiday time off as far in advance as possible, and if you manage a team, try to let them know what dates will be available to book off and get a general idea of what their plans are earlier rather than later. Often, setting aside a meeting time with your team a month or two in advance to plan out the workflow of the holidays can alleviate a lot of the stress associated with trying to accommodate yourself, your clients, and your team. This also gives your team and clients a heads-up of what your expectations are, and gives ample time to plan accordingly and ensure everyone is accommodated.
Being willing to compromise is also key in planning your Christmas vacation time. We recommend approaching holiday vacation time with an open mind, setting specific dates that no one works (such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day), and then meeting your team and clients half way on any other dates you may need off.
Our next tip may sound obvious, but working remotely year round is the easiest way to ensure you never have to stress about getting the day off from the office again, and is a quick fix to accommodate everyone's holiday needs. That's one of the main luxuries of being a VA; as long as you hit the deadlines, your schedule is entirely up to you, which definitely makes planning Christmas vacation time a whole lot easier. Having the ability to work remotely and getting that complete flexibility and control of your schedule makes navigating taking time off over the holidays as easy as it can ever be. Head over to our For VAs blog to discover all the perks of living a virtual work lifestyle and how you can successfully become a certified VA with our courses.
Working remotely comes with it’s own set of challenges though. Around the holidays there's often so much going on at home between family visiting and just needing a break in general, it can be tempting to just not work at all. To avoid falling into this rut we recommend setting up a workspace that is quiet and away from distractions, but also festive. Feeling like you’re missing out will only make the thought of working seem more unappealing, so doing something as simple as lighting some holiday scented candles, getting a mini tree for your workspace, and settling into your workflow with a prioritized task list and time blocking schedule can make working remotely this holiday season productive and enjoyable.
Our last tip is to stay productive!
We know it can be tempting to just skip work all together for the day, but missing too many hours will lead to you falling behind and only add to your stress. Try blocking your day with designated work/focus hours and break hours to stay on top of your holiday workload this year and still enjoy some well deserved rest. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to our blogs and newsletter! Let us know in the comments your favourite holiday treat and how you plan to stay productive this holiday season!
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