Tips & tricks for juggling your work this Christmas
As wonderful as the Christmas break is, it can be stressful too. For many companies, the end of the calendar year is critical, either because of an annual event, or a surge in retail sales or the pressure to meet end-of-year quotas. At the same time, you’ve got shopping to do, parties to throw and family to entertain. It’s a whole lot of fuss all at once. For many successful professionals, the key to getting through the Christmas break comes down to one word: flexibility.
When most people hear the phrase “flexible working,” they immediately think of working from home, but that’s only part of the story. Sure, it’s great to be able to skip the morning commute or to be at the house when a package arrives. But working from home has its challenges too. You can feel disconnected from your co-workers, disorganised in all the rush and distracted by kids home from school (or even just the telly). True flexible working is about being able to do your best work, no matter where you are.
Flexible working masters practice three disciplines that help them stay productive without getting flustered, even during the height of Christmas:
Eliminate distractions: Studies show that when you’re interrupted at work, it can take up to 23 minutes for you to get back on task. So what’s the number one distraction you’ll face when working from home over Christmas? Is it family? Nope. Television? No way. Mince pies? Not even close. It’s e-mail – because that’s the interruption most people have the hardest time shutting out, since we still think of reading e-mail as work, rather than a distraction from work. To cut down on interruptions, consider getting permission from your boss to only check your e-mail at preselected times, say 11 am and 4 pm. You should also consider setting your instant messaging status to “Do Not Disturb” and your phone to silent during your prime working times.
Increase collaboration: Just because you’re trying to minimise distractions doesn’t mean you can afford to work in isolation. Effective communication is even more important when you’re working from home. But instead of sending more messages, you need to learn to send better messages. With an internal social network like Yammer, you can cut through silos and collaborate more effectively, so you can spend less time talking about work and more time getting stuff done. At the same time, make sure that any teleconferences you hold adhere to collaborative meeting best practices, so that they end on time without anyone feeling rushed.
Pick your moments: You can use scheduling tools in Microsoft Office to help you make the most of your time. First, make a prioritised to-do list in OneNote, so you know what you’re up against. Then use your Outlook calendar to schedule appointments for all your biggest commitments, be they work, family or personal. Make everything else fit around those big moments. Next, look for unexpected pockets of time during the day. Maybe you have a long train journey that could double as report filing time. Maybe you have a free hour to make some calls while your kids are ice-skating. If you spot those windows early, it’s easy to make sure they’re as productive as possible. Then you can get back to doing what really matters.
Learn more about the benefits of flexible working this Christmas and beyond.