Coming Back From the Holidays: How to Get Back to Work
The holidays are nice: we take off some time, eat some great food and generally get a break from the grind of freelancing. But the holidays don’t last forever. It can be tempting to fall into a holiday routine that keeps going well after the last present is opened, perhaps even after Auld Lang Syne is sung. Enjoyable as it might be, that routine won’t keep clients too happy.
Sooner or later, we have to get back to work. We have to readjust to the schedules and workflows that keep us productive during those parts of the year when we’re not celebrating. Getting back to those routines can be difficult, but it is possible.
Jump Back into Your Routine
Many freelancers know what their ideal routine is already — we don’t need to build new routines after the holidays end. We just need to get back into those good habits we had before we started on this year’s holiday season. It’s like going to the gym: it’s not necessarily as enjoyable as the alternative, but the easiest way to start going to the gym after a long break is simply to go.
Don’t worry about finding the perfect starting point. It’s easy to get in the mindset that we have to start back to work on a Monday or we really can get back to work until all the decorations are put away, but the fact of the matter is that the right time to start getting back to work is right now.
It can take some time to get back in the habit of working, so don’t worry about getting entirely back into your routine today. Just do what you can today, do a little more tomorrow and shortly you’ll be back up to speed.
Get Out of the House
If you work from home, it can be especially hard to get back to work. There may be new toys to play with, relatives still home on winter break and leftovers begging to be eaten. Heading out can provide a break from the pressures that can keep you distracted. Even an hour or two at a local coffee shop can provide an atmosphere different enough to let you get some work done. This may be the right time to try out a new co-working space or check out what facilities your local library offers.
The alternative can be to change up your work space at home: if you’ve got anyone home for the holidays while you’re trying to work, getting them out of the house may be more helpful than leaving yourself. It doesn’t have to be an all day affair — sending an adult with vacation time to a movie or a kid off from school to a play date may be just enough of a break.
If the distraction is less a matter of the people around you and more about the holiday routines you’ve settled into and now need to break, cleaning out and reorganizing your office may provide a way to break up your calendar. You’ll probably need to start thinking about details like tax preparation soon: while gathering the records for such tasks may not be as fun as celebrating, it doesn’t always feel as taxing as an assignment for a client.
Enjoy the New Year
It’s easy for clients to come back from the holidays bursting with energy and new ideas — along with hopes for fast turn-arounds. Whether or not you can match that enthusiasm, it can be an important factor in how fast you get back to work. You’ve got a year of opportunity in front of your, chances to grow your freelance business and take on new projects. Getting back to work doesn’t have to be a question of drudgery: if you’ve got goals in mind for the new year, along with a project or two of your own that has you excited, you may be able to move faster on getting back into the swing of things.
ThinkGeek Giveaway: Star Trek Interactive Tribbles
There is no doubt that freelancing–particularly the sector made up by developers–attracts a large number of lonely nerds. We’re hoping that this Christmas we can help take away some of your loneliness by pandering to your nerdy side. Today’s giveaway is a Star Trek Interactive Tribble from ThinkGeek:
“These tribbles, when they’re not busy being cute and purring, were prodigious breeders. As one country-doctor once quipped, “Well, the nearest thing that I can figure is that they’re born pregnant – which appears to be quite a time-saver!” In fact, their ability to multiply is so incredible, they can fill an entire cargo hold in three days – that’s one million, seven-hundred seventy-one thousand, five hundred sixty one tribbles… assuming one tribble with an average litter of ten producing a new generation every twelve hours. That’s some impressive breeding, right there. It would make any man want to high-five any tribble, except tribbles don’t have arms.”
Today’s contest is another Twitter contest–simply follow FreelanceSwitch, and tweet about the competition including a link to this page. Ensure you use your real email address when you leave your comment so we can contact you if you win. Nobody other than Envato staff will see it. See this post for terms and conditions.
Great giveaway. I twitt this. @warstwydotcom
Silly Freelance Switch. I’m *already* following you, and I made sure to tweet your contest/post. I’m @stephauteri.
As for getting back to work after the holidays, maybe I’m weird, but I’m always *eager* to jump back in. In fact, I probably shouldn’t even be online right now. I’m supposed to be opening gifts with my husband.
I agree with @stephauteri I’m always eager to get back to work after the holidays!
I once had my picture taken in the Star Trek bar in Las Vegas after we were playing with the tribbles and when I saw the photo I said “is that a tribble in the photo?” and was informed it was my husband’s head! Thus “is that a tribble?” has been used in our house for a long time, sadly without and actual tribble, so here’s hoping!
Oh yes, and I tweeted this: http://twitter.com/sawayaconsult/statuses/7037442425 (@sawayaconsult)
Tweeted at @serenedestiny and following you guys (:
I find it pretty easy to ‘jump’ back in. I crave routine and can’t wait to get back to it. In fact, that’s what I’m doing today.
i would love to go back to the gym! but yes we need to face the fact we all are going back to our biz
One thing I always do is try something new and try to change some aspect of myself. Looks are always one simple step. This year I have been conscious about being just 5’4″ so tried to become taller. Now most of these ideas are a waste of time and cost heaps of dough. Please don’t try Kimi soles its total nonsense. I did ues High Life http://www.tallplace.com for a couple of exercises to stretch my legs, this eems to have given me about another 2 inches more. Like someone said last week “can’t I just get some high heels” well this is true but not a change and change is often needed in all areas of life to really know you are going somewhere.
Hope this helps,
Jenna
Definitely useful suggestions! And, tweeted @clararaubertas
Awesome – you can never have too many tribbles. Which is a good thing considering their nature. Tell me why “tribble” isn’t in the dictionary, though? @PaulGillespie
@thembisue – Tweeted the article and giveaway
I think it’s actually quite simple – you just get back to work! You need money, don’t you?
Its definitely very boring
retweeted @wishin4gucci … but do we really have to go back to work???
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Some great ideas here. I find myself very motivated to get going right after the holidays. I think what helps is that I spend a few hours between Christmas and New Year’s Day reflecting on the past year and thinking about what I want to accomplish in the year ahead. I then write down my top goals and create some key milestones for their accomplishment. By January 4th, I have so much pent-up energy in me that I get right to work!
There are great ideas. I agree – it is very hard to get back to work after long holidays.
Great article Thursday!
This is a great eye opener for everyone as the enjoyment of vacation may always swing around our moods then it’ll be just another day to work again in front of the computer. Well, for me, I can always open up that “mood to work” by just at the end of that holiday, I would have to write notes that tomorrow can be a different day and that tomorrow should be a productive day at work so that my mind will be set the moment I wake up.
what a great post to boost up the motivation after eating all of that turkey
thanks
@squibbleworld – Tweeted about the article and giveaway, thanks for the back to work advice!
This is really a great post with cool ideas ^_^ Thanks a lot!
I may have to re-read this a few times this week! lol! <3 @couturefreak
I always find healthy to get around the house and tidy up everything. After that I have a feeling of having done something (along with the burning a many turkey calories) that gets me back into a working mood.
Great for the Tribbles, Tweeted too
Thanks for all.
@slappy77
Coming Back From the Holidays: How to Get Back to Work | FreelanceSwitch is awesome: http://is.gd/5N0aM
Great article. It’s been twott! @atrdesign
tell me about it, I am still suffering from holiday hangover..
I went overseas for a week and it was tough getting the mindset back for work!
I agree – it is very hard to get back to work after long holidays, but I don’t have almost holidays = (
Holidays are a great period to spend time with your family, relax and forget about all the stressful months of work. It should be a bliss if they would last forever, but once the New Year arrives, your projects and work plans are waiting for you to make them come true. I am a freelancer myself so I know how important time is and the sooner you get back in the habit of working the better shall your work opportunities arise in your career.
I wanted to share with you a great tool, that has helped me lately to focus better on my work tasks, improved my overall productivity and kept me focused on my projects everytime some intrusive “distractions” on the social networks appeared.
The name of this tool is WorkMeter and it helps me to precisely know, by metrics, at the end of every day, week, or month what was my activity, on what did I pay more attention, what I neglected and what I need to improve.
At the beginning I wasn;t so sure that using this tool will make any improvement in my work routine, but now, after using it for 2 months I am totally addicted to it and I would definetely recommend it recommend it to any freelancer, professional or company who wants to be more productive. At http://www.workmeter.com you can try their free trial for 2 weeks. Give it a try! We’ll see eachother in January 2012 and we’ll talk about our achievements