The Holiday Season Slow-Down: The Importance of “Making a List”

Credit: Cordey on Flickr

As the holiday season begins, your freelance business may seem like its ending.

There are two schools of thought about end of the year work: You either have a lot because the company is trying to use up its budget, or you don’t get much because most of your clients are out of money or too wrapped up in other things (including their personal shopping). This isn’t a feast or famine situation for many freelancers–but it sure can feel like it.

I always find the end of the year and the beginning of the year to be slower. Why? Well, maybe the people feeding us work aren’t so concerned about us because it’s a time to rest, go frantic shopping or take a vacation. They get a steady check coming in no matter what, so if they can kick back a little, many people will do so. So again, it can feel like being on the bottom of the totem pole.

Instead of focusing on the negative, I try to see the holiday slow-down as a time to focus on things I normally don’t make the time to do. That can include taking time for myself, or using the time to focus on things like marketing. (For me, I try to work on book and magazine writing.) By keeping yourself busy, you will stay in control of your business. Otherwise, one day without any work can feel like a week, and what feels like a week can turn into what feels like a month. My goal has always been to stay busy.

This year, I’ve noticed the slow-down coming on a little sooner than normal, but instead of freaking out, I’m making a list of all the things I can do during the slow-down. Why? Because it’s easy to get negative when you feel upset by it. Instead, you can turn to your handy-dandy list and always have something to do. (It also keeps me feeling busy, and I am the kind of person that needs that rhythm to feel good.)

Here are some ideas for what to put on your holiday slow-down to-do list:

Work-related stuff. You can take a complete break, but you may want to stay busy with work stuff. If you do, include all those pesky things you never seem to have time for. This can include working on guests posts for other bloggers that you promised months ago (I’m guilty of that one) or preparing for an upcoming project.

Start working on taxes. You may not be thrilled about this one, but even by organizing your files, you will be prepared to compile your taxes when it’s time. By then, you may be very swamped with work again, so working ahead on something this mundane can be valuable. (It’s also a good time to consider switching accountants or learning about a new tax software, if you’ve been meaning to do either of those.)

Organize internally. This is something often overlooked, but very necessary. Administrative tasks, such as organizing your electronic filing system may not be at the top of your to-do list when you are perpetually busy, but it’s a great thing to do when you have some free time. Often you can improve your productivity by improving your internal systems for workflow, invoicing, marketing, etc. If you’ve been meaning to organize either your office or your business processes, this can be a wonderful time to do so.

Career-related passions. This includes spending time on things that aren’t necessarily work but fall under the career umbrella. Have you been wanting to write a book? Or take a class in your field? Get cracking on those. I’m going to work on a new book book proposal. You may not find an immediate financial payoff, but these things can pay off huge in the future.

Marketing. Even if you want to take a month off from work, and you can, I encourage you to keep up with your marketing efforts. I recently got postcards printed and will be spending time addressing those and building my marketing list. Again, no immediate financial payoff, but when everyone returns to work in 2011 with new ideas and projects, you want your name to be visible–so this can be a huge benefit.

New year’s resolutions. It’s the perfect time to set your resolutions–don’t wait until after Dec. 31 to get moving on this. By thinking out your goals for the upcoming year, you can get more in-line with what you want to do. Give it time to settle in and digest before you commit and start working on these goals. Review them over the course of the next month to get a feel for what you want in 2011, instead of jotting down a list of resolutions.

Don’t be alarmed if you’re excited about getting to work on this to-do list. These are the kinds of things you typically want to do, or the types of things that nag at you–so it’s kind of thrilling to even think about the prospect of checking them off. And don’t be shocked if work trickles in either, because you never know when your next project will arrive. The key, of course, is balance. Isn’t it always?

Finally, it’s good to stay busy. Regardless of which holiday you celebrate, be sure to focus on that a little and make time for the people and things that matter most in your life. After all, work will get busy again and the holiday slow-down will start looking like an annual vacation sooner or later.

Photo credit: Cordey on Flickr