The holidays are upon us which means your schedule is about to fill up with family gatherings, parties with friends and other fun things. As an entrepreneur, it can be difficult to juggle it all. You want to spend quality time with family and friends, but your customers expect things to keep moving forward. You might even feel extra pressure to bring in revenue during a time when you’re spending a lot of money on gifts or travel.
As an entrepreneur, I have to hustle through the holidays so I can start off the new year with a spike in revenue. But doing this can always bring up feelings of guilt for not spending enough time with my family. Over the years, I’ve had to come up with a strategy for both myself and my employees to create a manageable work-life balance during the holiday season.
Here are three ways to keep your hustle going through the holidays while still making time for your loved ones.
1: Keep a schedule.
This schedule is going to be slightly different from your normal routine, but in general, keep doing the things that make you productive. I always try to maintain my regular morning routine even when I’m taking time off for the holidays. This includes working out, having some ‘me’ time to read or listen to a podcast and answering emails. Taking an hour or two to prioritize yourself in the morning will keep you on track and focused. My advice to you is to schedule everything: your work time, your fun time and your family time. When you’re having work time, turn off all other distractions and focus on what you’re working on. When you’re with family, be present and turn off your phone so you can enjoy that time and be fully present.
2: Set aside time to learn more about your industry.
During the holidays, we find ourselves with more time on our hands. You might have a long car or plane ride to go visit family or go on vacation. Use this time to read a chapter of a book or listen to a podcast that can teach you something new about your industry or help you learn a new skill. When you come back to working full-time after the holidays, you’ll feel energized and will hopefully have a few new ideas!
3: Make a list of goals for the new year.
Downtime during the holidays is a great time to set financial, physical and personal goals for the new year. It’s important to know where you are right now before moving forward with a goal for the next year. Sometimes if our business is having a lot of success, our health may be suffering due to working long hours and sleeping and exercising less. Or, our health might be awesome, but our relationships or finances are struggling. Don’t wait until December 31 to set your goals. Establish them now so that when the first of the year hits, you’ll know what you need to do.
Most importantly, enjoy the holidays guilt-free. Put your phone or computer away so you can truly enjoy time with your family and remember what’s most important in life.
