It’s officially holiday season – a time for joy, family, and celebration, mince pies, elves on the shelves, Twinkle Twinkle etc. But if you’re a small business owner, it can also feel like an endless to-do list: finalising projects, managing emails, and trying to balance work with family commitments. It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos and forget what this season is really about.
The good news? With a little planning and a few simple strategies, you can wrap up your work, prepare for the new year, and truly enjoy the festivities. Let’s explore five practical ways to stay productive and stress-free this holiday season.
1. Prioritise Your Top Tasks
I know. You have thousands of things on your mind, and you feel like the number of tasks you need to do would be a challenge even for a village full of people. But let me reassure you, it’s just in your head. So let’s grab pen and paper and start to write down everything. This ‘brain dumping’ can also help you to feel a bit more relaxed and get into the mindset of prioritising. It can be tempting to try and finish everything before the holidays, but not everything is essential. To avoid overwhelm, you need to focus your energy where it matters most.
Action Steps:
- Write down every task you’d like to complete before the holidays.
- Categorise them into three groups:
- urgent
- important but not urgent
- can wait until January.
- Choose the top three urgent tasks that will impact your business most — this is where you’ll focus your attention.
- Set realistic deadlines for your top three tasks
- Give yourself permission to defer or delegate the rest
Pro Tip: Use a productivity method like the Eisenhower Matrix* to categorise tasks and stay focused on what’s truly important.
2. Schedule Downtime
It sounds a bit strange to actually schedule time for relaxing, but the reality is that it’s quite difficult to switch off when you want to get as much done as possible before the new year. Let’s keep in mind, that the holidays are about connection, joy, rest, and spending time with your loved ones — these are the moments you’d like to be present at. But if your mind is constantly on work things and to-dos, what happens is, you will be present, but you won’t be present at all. So, you need to assure yourself that everything is under control and it’s safe to switch off (hence the prioritising in the previous tip) and also, you need to know when is the time to switch off. Things won’t happen unless you plan for them.
Action Steps:
- Block out specific days or times on your calendar for family activities, self-care, or simply doing nothing. Treat these blocks as non-negotiable!
- Set boundaries for work. For example, decide that you won’t check emails after 5 pm or during weekends in December.
- Let your team or clients know in advance when you’ll be unavailable, so there’s no last-minute pressure to be “on call.”
Pro Tip: Create a festive to-do list for your personal life as well, including fun activities like baking, decorating, or watching your favourite holiday films. Balance work with joy!
3. Batch Your Work
Bouncing between tasks is a major productivity killer. It takes an average of 25 minutes to regain your focus after task switching – not really effective, is it? Instead, group similar tasks together and tackle them in focused sessions—this is known as batching, and it’s a game-changer during busy periods.
Action Steps:
- Divide your workload into categories such as emails, social media, client follow-ups, and financial admin.
- Allocate a specific block of time for each category on your calendar (e.g., one hour for emails, two hours for content creation). You can even create themed days if that suits you better (Monday – finances, Tuesday – meetings/consultations etc.)
- During each session, eliminate distractions by turning off notifications and focusing solely on the task at hand.
Pro Tip: Use a timer to work in 25-minute intervals (a technique called the Pomodoro Method) and take short breaks in between. This keeps you energised and prevents burnout.
4. Plan for the New Year Early
Starting the new year feeling organised and prepared is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. A little planning now will save you stress in January and set you up for success.
Action Steps:
- Set aside an hour or two to outline your goals for the first quarter of the new year.
- Break each goal into actionable steps and decide which ones you’ll tackle first.
- Create a simple January calendar that includes key deadlines, meetings, and projects.
- If applicable, brainstorm marketing campaigns or content ideas to kickstart the new year.
Pro Tip: Use a project management tool like Trello, Asana, or Notion to organise your plans and keep everything in one place.
5. Automate What You Can
Automation is your best friend when it comes to maintaining consistency while stepping away from your business. Setting up systems now will give you peace of mind throughout the holidays.
Action Steps:
- Set up email auto-responders to let clients know when you’ll be back and who they can contact for urgent matters.
- Use a social media scheduling tool like Later, Buffer, or Hootsuite to plan and schedule posts in advance.
- Automate invoice reminders or payment follow-ups with tools like QuickBooks or Xero.
- Create templated responses for FAQs, so your team or VA (if you have one) can handle customer queries seamlessly.
Pro Tip: Test all automation tools ahead of time to make sure everything runs smoothly before you step away.
This holiday season, let go of perfection and focus on what truly matters. By prioritising your tasks, scheduling time to recharge, and automating where possible, you can enjoy the festivities fully, knowing your business is under control. Give yourself the gift of peace and presence—because the holidays are meant to be cherished, not stressed over.
Wishing you a joyful and stress-free holiday season!
*Eisenhower Matrix: “The Eisenhower Matrix, also referred to as Urgent-Important Matrix, helps you decide on and prioritize tasks by urgency and importance, sorting out less urgent and important tasks which you should either delegate or not do at all.” (source)
