How to Stay Productive On Cyprus Holiday

The holiday season is a super distracting time of year. Most people have a packed schedule during July and August and likely need to take some time off work. This isn’t that much of a problem most times of year, but because the holidays are a big travel time for everyone, this can make reallocating responsibilities incredibly complicated. In addition to the general office mayhem that accompanies lots of vacations all at once, there are parties, charity drives, and all sorts of events to get your mind wandering at work. Here are some ways you can stay productive into your summer Cyprus holiday:

One of the easiest ways to combat year-end distractions is to come up with a work plan you can follow for the last few months. Talk to your managers and co-workers to figure out what tasks are most important and when they need to be completed. Create a concrete schedule for when you’ll do what, and stick to it. The reason this works so well is it cuts down on your indecisiveness. When you’re distracted, it’s much harder to make decisions. This means a lot of your time can be taken up trying to choose which job you’ll get done today. When you have a detailed plan, you’ve already done that–it’s simply a matter of getting down to business.

It might seem counter intuitive, but one of the easiest ways to stay productive on Cyprus holiday villa is to take some time off. Make the most of these days by using them to get through errands that might be distracting you in the office. For example, if you’re feeling the urge to shop for gifts online during work hours, dedicate a day off to buying all your presents. Taking some paid time off will also give you a chance to recharge. Taking some time away will help you feel refreshed and ready to take on the challenges you’re facing in the office.

When you’re in the office, focus on one task at a time. Most people are terrible at multitasking, even if they think they’re great at it. Instead of getting many jobs done at once, they actually just slow themselves down by trying to divide their attention. When you multitask, you’re also a lot more likely to make mistakes, which means more wasted time when you have to fix issues later. If you find yourself opening up extra tabs to check your email or trying to write a report while on a phone call, stop. You’ll save time by giving one item your full attention.

Make sure you’re staying on top of your fitness routine during the holiday season. This isn’t just to make up for heavy holiday meals and treats–it’s also likely to keep your mind sharp. Even though this time of year is meant to be a celebration, it’s often very stressful. When you exercise, you help burn off some of the excess energy that might otherwise go toward fretting about issues in the office. Since exercise reduces the amount of stress you feel, you’ll be less distracted at work. If you don’t already have a fitness routine, there’s no time like the present–figure out a way to add an average of 30 minutes of cardio or strength training to each day.

Your co-workers are going through the exact same issues you are with the holiday season, so don’t go it alone – have team meetings where you figure out how you can all work together to make the end of the year run smoothly. This is particularly important if many of your team members are taking time off. Communicate about how you’ll handle the workload when people are out of the office. If lots of people will be gone on the same days, come up with a plan to make sure the remaining employees aren’t saddled with an overwhelming amount of work. Decide to work ahead or delay projects to make sure everyone can handle his or her workload.

Sometimes the best thing you can do to stay on track is just to remind yourself to stay on track. When you find that you’re wasting time, don’t beat yourself up-just stop. Getting back on task without agonizing about how hard it is will be far less stressful. Following your pre-made schedule will help make this easier – try to accomplish something concrete every day you’re working. Additionally, reduce outside distractions. If, for example, your office plays holiday music, it’s easy to let your mind wander toward the familiar lyrics. Invest in a good pair of headphones or earplugs to cut down on the noise.

Via Forbes