The holiday season is a great time to catch up with colleagues and clients, especially since people are generally in a festive mood. But when life gets too busy, severe stress can set in. Focusing on your true priorities will help you enjoy this time of year instead of rushing through it at a break-neck pace. Read on for some more tips to consider during this holiday season.

H-Healthy Focus:
Preparing for the holidays is like preparing for a big competition – we need to be at our peak to make it through in fine form. Maintain critical aspects of your routine: fitness, healthy eating and getting enough sleep. All of these support your ability to function at peak productivity.

O-Overestimating:
Stress at this time of year is often associated with overestimating what we can reasonably accomplish.
How can you avoid this?
a) Make a list of everything that you want to accomplish by the end of the year. Determine what you can cut or postpone from that list.
b) Estimate how much time is required for each goal. Double that time.
c) Block off time to achieve those key goals; the remaining time is what you have available for meetings, business lunches, etc. The other stuff will wait until 2008.

L-Lists:
Keep your ‘Action Item’ or ‘To Do’ list on you at all times. Make use of short breaks to review a report or sign holiday cards.

I-In Moderation:
A ‘less is more approach’ truly resonates at this time of year. Review your list and think of creative ways to reduce your load and alleviate the pressure. Can you outsource meal prep or house cleaning? Can you take advantage of online shopping? Can you modify your full dinner party to a pot-luck?

D-Don’t be Afraid to Say No:
It’s much better to do a few things really well than to struggle with multiple things. Sometimes, saying ‘no’ requires practice. Repeat after me: “No, I won’t be able to do that in 2007.”

A-Allow for Free Time:
Work places often become ghost towns during holidays for good reason. Use this down time to update your files, catch up on reading and bring back some order to your desk. And then leave – switching off from work is important; the holidays are designed to be a time of rest and peace.

Y-Year End Celebration:
We know that our productivity improves when we take time to review (and learn from) past performance. There are likely many things that went well, and likely some things that you would like to see improved. Celebrate your many accomplishments and give yourself time to rejuvenate with time off. Grab your eggnog and kick up your feet. I can assure you that this productivity consultant will be doing that this holiday season!