With the holidays coming up, it feels impossible to keep your focus, especially as an entrepreneur. While you might have struggled in the past, this year can be different! 

Below are four tips about productivity, stress management, and planning over the holidays for entrepreneurs:

1. Tidy up the loose ends 

Entrepreneurs need to have a bunch of irons in the fire at once. That’s how you move your business forward. However, the end of the year is when other businesses are winding down and usually making less purchasing decisions. Everything moves a little slower at the end of the year, and that’s not a bad thing for entrepreneurs. 

This means it’s the perfect time to wrap up all the loose ends you inevitably have floating around. That project you had to push aside? The leads you never followed up on? That idea that had to take a back seat to more pressing tasks? Now is the time to give them some attention. You never know where your next best idea is going to come from! 

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done” – Bruce Lee

2. Make a plan for next year 

If you’re thinking about your 2020 business plan on January 1st, you’re in a bad spot. You should already have a set business plan for the year, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about which projects you want to execute first.

We’ve shared that, “one of the questions that we should be asking is “What can I do to get more, to do more?”…as an entrepreneur, we have to be a little more creative than the average person and find ways to increase our capacity.” How are you going to increase your capacity in the new year? Where do you want to improve? Forget New Years Resolutions, start right now and you’ll be ahead of your competition.

3. Take time to celebrate

As an entrepreneur, you’re used to the grind. Your team hopefully is as well, but that doesn’t mean you all can hustle your way through the holiday season. You should respect your team’s time this holiday season. Flexible work schedules are popular for a reason on a regular day, but that goes doubly for the end of the year.

Celebrating as an office can be a morale boost as well! Just make sure that it’s an optional, since not everyone celebrates the same things. You don’t have to guess at this; just talk things through with your team! Find out who celebrates what and make sure they’re represented in your celebrations.

You also need to make sure you’re taking time off! Like we said, you can’t always be on the grind, or you’ll burn out, fast. Take this time to think about your accomplishments and enjoy your loved ones.

“We think there is endless time to live but we never know which moment is last. So share, care, love, and celebrate every moment of life.”

4. Get the help you need

You might be reading this and thinking, “Well that’s all nice in theory, but I have a business to run! When am I supposed to find time to celebrate with my team, plan ahead, and wrap up business for the year?” The answer is to make sure you get help! You have to make this time, and you can’t do it all on your own. The good news is that this is easier than ever with outsourcing. 

Get professionals online to handle tasks that are important but time consuming, like call answering and appointment scheduling. Freelancers on sites like Fiverr can handle quick design or video projects. Outsourcing year round makes a lot of sense, but it’s almost an essential during the holidays. Save your time and energy for the bigger picture!

The holidays are a great time to reflect on your success, consider your opportunities, and plan ahead. Make sure you enjoy every minute by being present, celebrating, setting your goals and getting the support you need. You deserve it!

How do you make sure to stay productive during the holidays? Share your ideas and thoughts with us below!