Festive Productivity
Festive Productivity
It never seems to happen at the same time, for the same duration or necessarily even happen at all- but more often than not we are faced with a period where work seems to slow, customers become harder to reach and all eyes switch to the green pastures of ‘next year’. In the famous works of David Jason “This time next year Rodney…” But could this sentiment actually be costing us valuable time and the chance to be productive in the here and now.
“It never seems to happen at the same time, for the same duration or necessarily even happen at all- but more often than not we are faced with a period where work seems to slow, customers become harder to reach and all eyes switch to the green pastures of ‘next year’. In the famous works of David Jason “This time next year Rodney…†But could this sentiment actually be costing us valuable time and the chance to be productive in the here and now. “
So how do we ensure we are making the most of this time? For me it is important to view it as an investment. Of course, to not think towards next year or start planning and gearing up would be hugely short sighted. But a few simple ‘cementing’ activities can keep you going up to the break and ensure you start on the right foot for next year. Below are 3 suggestions you can start doing to cap 2014 off in style;
Cementing and summarising successes
Personal- We all love a bit of ‘I’m awesome’ time- and rightly so. But by looking back at accomplishments and triumphs from the year we allow ourselves to see our personal development, isolate the skills we have grown and inevitably start to see what we want to achieve in next year.
Clients- Chances are you will be speaking to clients before the year is out but take the time to have a dedicated, informal chat about the steps forward you have made, aspects you like about working together and ways in which it can be further improved. It doesn’t have to be a long, fluffy chat- but it shows you value the relationship and are always seeking to develop it.
Do that extra research or reading you have said you will do all year
At one point in time something happens where we have a light bulb moment and think ‘It would be really useful to know more about this’ Or ‘ I wish I understood that better’….. before the day to day tasks takeover. Chances are that thing you wanted to know more about would actually still be really useful.
Be it understanding a clinical element of a condition better or learning how to perform a specific function on Excel, utilize this time to do it.
Admin
Sorry, but it had to be said! It’s everyone least favourite task but a clean and tidy database, inbox and mind will increase your productivity and focus more than anything. Delete those emails you have developed an attachment to and get those notes onto the database so you are fully clear on where to start and focus next.
These are all small jobs and tasks, not all of them may work for you, but that last push now will give you every chance to get off to an absolute flying start next year with the best relationships in place! I’m always keen to hear of new ways to become more productive so let me know if you have struck gold with something similar!
