Holiday Aftershock & Productivity

Here in the U.S., we’ve been doing our self-isolation thing for about 5 weeks now. We’ve started to carve out our new routines and expectations for how our days typically go. So what could possibly go wrong when you add in something new, like say, a holiday weekend?

Depending on your religious views, Easter could be a major holiday filled with family traditions...or just another Sunday. For those that anticipate the holiday and enjoy celebrating in a big way, you might have found yourself a little off last weekend. Tension and frustration might have been running a bit higher. Maybe an arguement or two broke out?

During the month of December, you can find blog posts, articles, and social media posts everywhere talking about reining in your expectations and commitments for the holiday season. There’s talk on how to reduce stress and protect your mental health. In addition to cooking and decorating tips, you can find tips on how to handle tense family situations and enjoy your time. How might all of this apply to our experience of ANY holiday during self-isolation?

Did you go into this holiday with memories of good times? Do you have certain expectations on how the holiday should go? Did you put pressure on yourself to recreate specific experiences? How did you feel? Were you missing family that would usually be there?

It’s tough. You’ve finally started to find a daily rhythm, and then suddenly last weekend you could clearly see how this new normal doesn’t match with your expectations for the holiday. Emotions ran high, and maybe you’re coming out of the Easter weekend a little deflated, upset, and not really ready to face another week at home.

So, what can we do? How do we find that motivation to work productively again? What could we do the next time we find ourselves facing a holiday? I’ve put together five steps to get you there.

1.) Pause

You really can’t get much done--or done well--when you feel like you’re forcing it. Whether you lack motivation or your mind is just elsewhere, continuing will only make things worse. You’ll find ways to distract yourself or you’ll take 2 or 3 times as long to complete a task.

To get back on the productivity train, pause. Step back. If you journal, pull it out and start writing. If you meditate, start your breathing. If you need movement to think through things, go for a walk, run on that treadmill, or pull out your jump rope. You need to allow yourself the space to experience your emotions, think through why you feel this way, and what you want to do about it.

2.) Talk

Once you have a good idea of what you’re feeling and why, it’s time to talk. If this started with an argument, see if you can talk it through with that person now that you’re in a clearer head space. Call a friend or start a text conversation with someone you trust. Let out that frustration or anger or sadness. Instead of letting those thoughts bounce around in your head and keep you distracted from your work, get them out!

3.) Celebrate

Now that you’ve identified what’s taking away your drive and focus and had the chance to talk to someone about it, it’s time to celebrate! Yup, celebrate all that you’ve managed to do at home. What have you overcome? How have you improved? What are you grateful for right now?

Take a moment and really pat yourself on the back. There’s been some good things that have happened recently, right? If you start looking for them, you’ll probably find them. You may discover as well, that once you look for the things you can celebrate and be grateful for, you easily find more and more things you can add to your celebration list. And, I can almost guarantee that you’ll start to feel better about yourself, those around you, and your life.

4.) Restart

How is your focus level now? What about your motivation? You should see a big difference in your level of concentration and drive between where you started and now. So, let’s get going. You may not fully be back to rock-star-level focus, but you should be well on your way.

For further tips on improving your focus, check out 5 Tips for Staying Focused & Productive.

5.) Commit

We improve as humans by learning from our mistakes. So, now that you feel a little more like your amazingly productive self, take a look at what led you to your state of unproductiveness. What can you do to avoid this in the future? How can you recognize it and stop it before it starts?

Once you have your answers, it’s time to commit. If you’re one of those amazing people that can set expectations for themselves and follow through, feel free to commit to yourself. Just write it down in a place you will see often or create a reminder on your phone.

If you’re one of the rest of us that needs external accountability to follow through and be who we want to be, commit to someone else. Let them know how you intend to act, respond, and be, and then ask them to help you stay on track. 

I host a virtual co-working membership where coaches/entrepreneurs from all over the world come together for two hours 2-3 times a week for dedicated work time with the focus and accountability to get things done. If you need that extra accountability stay on track to reach your productivity potential, click here to learn more about the membership.