We all wait for the holidays! Whether it’s Eid Al-Adha, Christmas, New Year’s, these are seasons for relaxation with friends and family, a time where you can sleep as much as you want, eat and hang around with no care in the world. For many people regardless of career level, holiday season is a time when work is low on your list of priorities. Most people stop working, stop blogging and stop any work-related activities all together.
While not taking time off can do your career more harm than good, staying on top of your job and up-to-date during holidays can help you get ahead of competition and advance your career. With just a bit of minimal work, you can set yourself apart from the crowd and dedicate a small amount of your time-off to work. Akhtaboot is here with smart tips to help you go this extra mile and get ahead of others during the holidays.
Self Education
Dedicating an hour or two daily to educate yourself on things that are relevant to your business will always do you good. Perhaps it’s a new but relevant topic that you are not familiar with or maybe you came across a new piece of research that you haven’t had the time to read. Bring your laptop home, research on new creative ideas to bring back with you to work. Get a relevant book and devote some time to read whenever you’re free. There is actually a saying that states: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young”, and another great person said, “Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune.”
Think Long Term
If you’re an employee handling the social media department of your company, the worst thing to do is to just stop answering people’s inquiries, stop posting news and events and stop blogging. Of course you don’t need to write as often but getting a few posts out there because chances are you’re going to be one of the few people out there who are still writing. You might also want to start planning conferences you want to attend. Usually we’re busy at work and don’t have the time to organize and keep things neat, so this is a good chance for you to keep on track. You may also organize key contacts and email them. Keep building the relationships with clients over the holidays, send out holiday cards. Make sure that when 2012 starts you are top of mind for everyone that knows who you are.
Work hard, Play hard
It’s totally fine to give yourself a break! Don’t feel guilty about it; we all need a vacation every once in a while. Spend time with family and friends, celebrate the holiday with loved ones or work on a hobby that you rarely get the chance to devote time to. Sleep for long hours, eat healthy and go to the gym. Doing so will help you feel enthusiastic and energetic after you go back to work. Work hard, Play hard!
Going back to work after a holiday vacation is typically something we all dread. After all, you were just getting used to staying up really late reading or spending your days watching football. While it naturally may be a jolt to your system when you first get back to normal work schedule, trying to prepare for work before the end of your vacation can help reduce the discomfort. Go back to your regular sleep routine before the holiday ends, check your emails to get yourself organized before going back to work after a long holiday.
The Akhtaboot team wishes you and your beloved ones a healthy, happy and stress-free holidays!
