The Work Boulevard

Nov 30, 2024

How to Stay Productive During the Silly Season

‘Tis the season to be merry… but not everyone has the luxury of enjoying total merriment. If you’re a freelancer or business owner who works more - not less - over the holiday season, we’re here for you!

Here are some tips from our community of seasoned professionals at The Work Boulevard, about what gifts you can give yourself to stay productive during the silly season. 

Give yourself time to play

It sounds counter-intuitive but it works. 

If your schedule is just work-work-work, it won’t be long before you feel left out of the festivities and resentful of your work. When FOMO takes over, you can easily end up partying all day, then working all night to catch up on client demands. 

But if you schedule in time to celebrate the season with family and friends, it makes it easier to focus on work when you have to. We’ve found that motivation increases when you have limited time. You’ll be able to give your full focus to partying during party time and work during work time. 

Don’t believe us? Have a look at these results from four-day workweek experiments. The same concept applies here.

Give yourself a good space

The right workspace matters more during the holiday season than at any other time. Working from home is harder when there are so many more distractions around, including people, decorations, food and festivities. Cafes also don’t help, because they too are amped with celebratory distractions. 

Coworking spaces usually contain the festivities to decorations and a few community events, ensuring the quiet routine of normal working life is maintained. These spaces become your sanctuary during the holiday season. To try to focus in non-work environments is to fight a losing battle. Do yourself the favour of removing distractions by getting yourself to a coworking space to get it all done, then free yourself to go party with the rest of them afterwards.

The Work Boulevard is open for the entire festive season, and private offices can be accessed 24/7. Plus, all our spaces are centrally located, so you can get to the celebrations in no time.

Give yourself a dose of realism

Yes, we know you are here to find tips on how to NOT give yourself a break during the holiday season, but what we have found over the years is that it is wise to adjust your expectations about how much you can realistically achieve during this time.

Perhaps this season is your most lucrative, so you may want to go all out with work and miss out on the celebrations altogether. We’ve all been there and done that. And after a few times, you start to learn how important balance is. How some life events are not worth missing out on, for the sake of a few extra dollars. 

Sometimes, it is wise to adjust your goals for this season, and give a heads-up to your clients about your limited availability, or be wary of taking on projects that are too big and are likely to lead to burnout. Alternatively, you could consider hiring extra hands to help with the bigger projects, as that will share the load while ensuring everyone still gets time off. 

Give yourself an accountability partner

It helps when you are not the only one who has to work during the holidays. At The Work Boulevard, we provide plenty of opportunities to meet and befriend other business owners like you. When you have friends who have similar workloads and deadlines, it makes it much easier to stay productive during the festive season. 

You can come to the coworking space together, and even if you don’t have time to socialise, having someone else there, doing their own work, helps you stay focused too. Body doubling is a scientifically proven way to boost productivity, not just for people with ADHD.

It’s also important to inform your family and friends of your limited availability to party with them. By managing their expectations, and asking them to not contact you during work hours, you can turn them into supportive allies and accountability partners too.

If you are looking for a haven of peaceful productivity during the holiday season, contact The Work Boulevard team to find the right space for you.  www.theworkboulevard.com