Staying focused through the holiday haze

The holidays are in full-swing, and with this meaningful time meant for gathering with family and feasting on festive foods also comes end-of-year stress. It’s the season when we’re trying to wrap things up before the new year, when we must plan and set new goals, when kids stack up school events like band concerts and holiday parties- and when it seems like there’s an office event just about every week.

Year-end cheer can quickly turn into holiday haze, where so much is happening that planning for the next quarter falls by the wayside. Here are some tips to stay focused as we round the corner:

Plan. This sounds like a no-brainer, but dedicating time in your calendar to plan for the coming months is crucial to staying organized. Make sure you’re blocking out time every week to prioritize tasks and view your schedule. This way, you can make sure you’re focusing on priority projects at any given time.

Delegate. If your holiday schedule is crazy, chances are your team members’ schedules are too. But this should not deter you from delegating appropriate action items and asking for help when needed. Combing through tasks and planning with your team can help restore the mental and physical bandwidth needed to continue focusing on critical tasks at hand.

Communicate. Communication is key as calendars get more and more chaotic. Leaders should be communicating up, down and all around to make sure everyone is on the same page and moving the needle, collectively. Fear of contributing to cluttered mailboxes is no excuse to avoid talking with your teammates.

Follow up and follow through. It’s easy for things to fall through the crack during the last two months of the year. To manage this, be sure to follow up with your colleagues and clients more than usual. Check in with your teams to make sure they have appropriate support and resources to get the job done. Now is the time to push to the finish line and persevere through the end of the year.