Brace Yourselves: The Season of Overdoing is Here

For some reason, the holidays tend to bring out the perfectionism in many business owners. Even though objectively this is the WORST time to expect perfection from yourself or anyone else. Plus, you might overdo at work and then try to overdo it at home too.

Perfection doesn’t help you be more productive or happier during the holidays

If you’ve been reading my articles, you know that the L in LaserBrainTM Method stands for letting go. And at the holidays, perfection is one of the first things to let go of.

Your kids aren’t going to have the same kind of holiday you had when you were a kid, and neither are you. That’s OK. The important thing is time with the ones you love: that’s really what all the holidays during the month of December are about, whether you celebrate Christmas or not. 

Your kids (and you) are going to be hopped up on sugar all month, which leads to blood sugar crashes for everyone, which makes you all cranky. Don’t expect everyone’s going to be happy every minute of the season, least of all you.

If you’re hosting a party, your house doesn’t have to look like it came out of Martha Stewart or Southern Living. Yes, it needs to be clean and free of laundry piles all over the place, but it doesn’t have to be decorated perfectly either.

Is there such a thing as the perfect gift? Probably not. There is such a thing as a thoughtful gift, so if you enjoy handmade crafts and they come out reasonably well, you could consider giving those. 

Personalizing gifts is important too – maybe you’re doing gift cards this year, but make sure the gamer gets the card to GameStop and the reader gets the card to the local bookstore.

There are a number of small businesses that specialize in corporate gifts, though my guess is you need to get on that ASAP. Many of these business owners also donate portions of the proceeds to a charity they support, and they typically source their gifts from other small businesses. 

But let go of thinking you need 75 completely different baskets for each client. Instead, you can save money and time by ordering the same basket for everyone but spending your time writing a personal note to each one.

The holidays may not be the time for productivity in the office

There are times when work comes first, and times when family or life outside the business comes first. And for a lot of people, including entrepreneurs, the holidays swing more into the Life side of work-life harmony.

Have a lot of social get-togethers (networking groups often have holiday parties) and relatives coming for the holidays? Or do you have a lot of travel planned for the holidays? Either way, it might be too overwhelming to also try to spend a lot of time on uninterrupted deep focus work. 

I've worked for financial advisor offices where the mutual fund wholesalers and clients come by the office randomly to drop off food and chitchat. Thanking someone for their thoughts and generosity and asking about their loved ones not only makes everyone feel good, but it can really help you build and cement your connections. 

Maybe it’s more important to talk to your clients about their lives than it is to run another financial report that no one’s going to read over the holidays. Or dive into deep work without allowing interruptions.

If this is your slow season, what are you sacrificing by enjoying the holidays? 

On the other hand, if this is your busy season, you might need to cut back a little on the parties and really choose the ones that mean the most to you. Skip the others so you can accomplish what you need to during this time.

What fills your productivity tank and recharges you is not only key for productivity, but also holiday sanity

It’s tempting to let your regimen of nutritious food, hydration, rest, and physical movement slide during this time. But this is the worst time of year to give up on “unproductive productivity”. 

Which isn’t to say that you can’t sample the homemade cookies your client brought in, or enjoy the chocolate fountain at the holiday party. But the rest of the season, nutritious and minimally processed food will counteract the effects of all the sugar (and alcohol, if you partake).

People who believe exercise is only about losing weight often will give that up first when the schedule gets too full, but that’s also a really bad idea. Not only does physical movement keep you physically healthy, it helps you mentally. 

You’ll feel better on a day where you overindulged in treats if you get some movement in. You might need to get creative, like having walking meetings after a hearty holiday lunch. But you’ll be glad you did - if you live in a place that gets cold and/or snowy, make sure you’ve got the right outerwear so the weather doesn’t hold you back.

As best you can, stick to your regular sleep schedule. It’s a lot harder to get things done at work and to appreciate the crayon art your toddler drew on your newly painted wall when you’re tired and cranky.

Similarly, keep up the water intake. Forced heat can be very dry, so help your skin from the inside out if for no other reason. If you drink alcohol, having a glass of water in between alcoholic drinks will help prevent you getting out of control or having an awful hangover the next morning.

If you’re hosting a party, for the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster please provide beverages for your nondrinking/designated driver friends that are not fruit juice or soda. Any store that sells alcohol likely has some nonalcoholic options for gin, bubbly, whiskey, etc. Your local big grocery store (I’m not sure about smaller shops) sells nonalcoholic beer other than O’Douls. 

You might actually find something you like, and your friends will appreciate it. You can also mix up a big bowl of nonalcoholic punch (bonus: kids can drink it too) and anyone who drinks can simply add the tot of their choice into their own glass.

Recap (tl;dr):

‘Tis the season for overdoing and a longing for perfection. Give yourself the gift of not doing either, and making an intentional choice to spend less time being productive if it makes sense for your business this season. 

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