Winding down for Christmas

Rely on a plan
Be realistic about what can and can’t be done. Start thinking and planning early. Make a list of your most urgent tasks in order of priority. Estimate how long you need for each, then add half as much again. This will show which tasks can be completed comfortably before your workplace is overwhelmed with the sort of goodwill that makes concentration difficult. All other jobs will have to be put on hold until after New Year. Look at your priorities one more time to see if tasks need to be swapped around. Then tell the people affected by the choices you’ve made. Most will be fine about waiting longer if they know what’s happening. The more warning you give them, the more chance they have to adjust their own arrangements. They’ll find it so much less frustrating than being let down at the last moment.

Approaching even the most daunting workload in this rational and organised way helps make things feel manageable. Knowing you can achieve the goals you’ve set saves wasting energy worrying about how you’re going to fit everything in. You’ll work more effectively and may even have time to do some of the things not on the top priority list.

Put your feet up
This end of year holiday is unusual because everyone takes time off and everything stops for a week or so. Even if you work your socks off to get things finished, the chances are that your efforts with be thwarted by someone else not having got to the same stage of completion. So relax, it’s the season of goodwill. Extend that to yourself as well as to others.