| Hi read,
How are you? How's your holiday season going?
Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you for being part of this tribe this year. I hope you look back on 2023 and feel that it was a year of success.
This is my final Mompowerment email of 2023. I've wrapped up my client projects. As of the end of business day on Friday, I'm setting aside professional projects and focusing on fun for the season.
If you're trying to do the same, but still feeling pulled to work, I've got some ideas that might help. Keep in mind that this assumes you've already scheduled time away.
Don't feel guilty. It's important to step away from work. Why? Be present for your family. When your brain has time to rest, you become more productive when you are working. If you work without downtime for long stretches, you might find yourself feeling burnout (if you're not there already). And let's not forget that time off is part of your compensation package. Plus, let's be real. You deserve that time off!
Define emergencies. You don't always have to be on for work. I wrote about this last week, but I can't say enough why this is important. Agree with your clients, manager(s), and team about what is an emergency and the protocols to deal with that emergency. Only respond to emergencies and don't check email when you're taking personal time. For non-emergency situations, you can tell people in your out-of-office who can cover specific topics/tasks.
Be productive, not busy. Plan your time. Focus on what you truly need to do and remove the other noise. Get crystal clear about deadlines and understand what can be moved to early next year (especially if others are already out for the holiday season). Ensure you don't deal with unnecessary distractions at the office or home. Set times to do things like check email or voicemail for non-emergency tasks and topics. You might also take a break from social media. If you want to be on social, set a timer to limit your time on platforms.
Communicate your plans. Do it early and often. Send that note to your client now to let them know you'll be out next week or in early 2024. Remind them as you sign off about when you're back in your final holiday message. Set up an out-of-office message with that information. Tell people when you're leaving early as you start your day and then remind people that you'll sign off soon. Share a document with your team so everyone can enter when they're out so that it's easily accessible.
Change when/how you work now. Kids might already be out of school, so you might now be working at home with kids nearby. Consider shifting when you work. You get up earlier, start later, or divide up your day into chunks. It could be that you use Pomodoro technique (work 25 minutes and have a break for 5 minutes) so that your kids know when they have access to you throughout the day. This way you are getting stuff done and able to focus on non-work stuff as needed.
Alright, those are my final tips for the year! I hope you have Happy Holidays, filled with joy and laughter and only a little work.
Happy Holidays!
Suzanne
PS Pass this on to a fellow working mama who needs to hear this. She'll thank you for it!
PPS Don't forget to grab labels for the new clothes and items for your kids. My favorites are TagMates from Mabel's Labels (affiliate link). Keep your kids' clothes and items out of the school lost & found! | 
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