Photo by Miguel Dominguez on Unsplash
It is not always easy managing your productivity during the holidays. So we’ve put together this guide of holiday-specific tips to keep you productive and organised.
Set quiet time
Nothing ruins quality family time like constant notifications coming from your phone. Each of them is a reminder that you have work to do, and that is not something you or your loved ones should be thinking about during magical holiday moments.
Both iPhone and Android users can learn how to use the “Do Not Disturb” settings on their phones in order to address this issue. Android users can even download an app like Silent Hours in order to streamline the process. Both methods will allow you to set daily schedules for your phone to go into silent or vibrate mode.
Prioritise your tasks
To help yourself make the most out of the time you take out of your holiday festivities, you should draw up a to-do list with the highest-priority activities at the top.
Download Nobze, an app for Android or iPhone, to help you prioritise incoming tasks more quickly. So when you do take a break for work, you’ll know exactly what you should be focusing on before getting back to family.
Schedule social posts in advance
A lot of remote jobs these days involve posting regularly on social media on a regular basis. The holidays are an extremely busy time, though, and people can easily forget about their professional duties. To make sure social media posting stays on track, those people should schedule automated posts in advance.
Our favorite free app for this job is Hootsuite. The mobile version only allows scheduling for Twitter and Instagram, though, and there is a more comprehensive (and still free) web client.
Search for big business opportunities
As a remote worker, you can take on jobs while the majority of people cannot. Lots of offices look for people to maintain their normal operations during the holidays, and people like you are first in line. They’ll often pay a premium, in fact, so you could very well pick up a hefty chunk of change if you search for remote work opportunities before or at the start of the holiday season.
As a remote worker, you’re probably already familiar with the websites where you can find jobs, from Catalant to Postmates to Upwork.
Schedule times to deal with emails
Having a constant feeling of being on duty is a quick way to ruin your holiday season. It’s good to determine specific times when you will deal with emails. That means checking your inbox, making arrangements according to what you find, and sending replies if necessary. After you do those things, close your email and do not open it again until your next scheduled time.
Simply set a few “check email” reminders on your phone.
Get to somewhere productive
There really is no place like home for the holidays, so it’s tempting for remote workers to work in the house. It’s worth it, though, to pull yourself away from your loved ones for a few hours when you need to get some work done. You’ll be infinitely more productive without home-life distractions, and that means you can get back to spending more time with the people who matter most.
There’s no app for this one, but it’s a good idea to consider a large network of productivity-focused remote work locations like Tableworks that might be around the corner from your home.
If you take the advice we mention above, you’re much more likely to have a productive and fulfilling year-end season as a remote worker. Happy Holidays!