Schools, colleges and universities across the country have a tendency to set important work and deadlines all due after the Christmas holidays, which is frustrating when you want to be enjoying the festive period without stressing about the impending work. I've definitely been in the position of working way too excessively over the Christmas holidays, still working intensely on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day and only really having Christmas Day off. However, I learnt a lot from this and have realised some effective ways of being motivated to work without overworking myself. Since a lot of my readers will be in the same position, I thought it'd be helpful to share my tips for gaining the perfect balance of work and enjoyment this Christmas season.
Intersperse it with Christmas activities
Working can get quite tiresome and boring, especially when you want to be enjoying Christmas, so to make it more bearable you should try and include some festive activities. When I'm copying up notes or doing activities like mind maps, I can easily do it with music on or while watching something on my laptop, so at Christmas I switch this up by having my festive playlist on, watching Christmas films or vlogmas videos. Not only does this make the work more bearable, but it takes away some of the intensity and adds some enjoyment.
Don't be too hard on yourself
It's very easy to see the never-ending to-do list and trick yourself into thinking that you have to work non-stop over the holidays, but that really isn't the case. It's the holidays, you should cut yourself some slack! Remember that you'll have plenty of time after Christmas to do work, so try and enjoy the festive period while you can. There's always the time after Christmas to catch up, as the work will still be there but the festive period will be over. I know from experience that I was way too hard on myself last Christmas, probably due to having important January mocks almost straight away when I returned, and it's very easy to fall into the trap of working non-stop when it isn't necessarily needed or productive work.
Plan your time effectively
If you need to do 3 hours of work, for example, you can easily plan this around other activities, leaving you time to be productive whilst also enjoying time with friends and family feeling festive. Also, you can easily block off a section of time in the morning to get any work done, leaving the rest of the day all yours to enjoy. I've had quite a few days of spending time with my family or Aiden where I've done a couple of hours in the morning or evening, so that it's out of my mind and I know that I've been productive whilst still enjoyed the time.
Remember your passion
Especially if you're at A-Level or degree, the subjects that you've chosen are genuine passions that you enjoy, so try to remember that when you're working. It can be easy to get lost in the work mindset that any fun is taken from it, but try and rekindle your passion to make it more bearable. As an English literature student, I'll obviously have to do a lot of reading over the holidays, but obviously this will be more enjoyable if I remember my passion for the subject and view it as just reading for pleasure rather than for my degree.
Try not to stress out
If you don't manage to cover everything or have a few bits of work left undone after the holidays, it's not the end of the world. Chances are, a lot of people will be in the same position. Just focus on enjoying yourself during the holidays, especially if you're at uni, since you'll have time to work any day whereas festive days with your family and friends may not be as frequent. If you're hardworking and motivated, you'll always get the work done, but try not to let it take over your life and get worked up about the tiny details.
I hope that this post was useful, and it's definitely one I'll be looking back on myself since I have the tendency to overwork quite a lot! At the end of the day, the Christmas season is a time to enjoy and so you shouldn't waste it, especially if you're doing excessive unnecessary work. Thank you very much for reading and I'll see you tomorrow with another blogmas post!
Love from Daisy x
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