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How to enjoy Christmas in your business

Guest post by: Helen Dowling

Article Overview: If you’re anything like me, December in the business is a bit of a mad time. You’re trying to clear out everything you’ve got to do so you enjoy at least a couple of days off and you’ve also got to write Christmas cards, decorate your office and go out for some Christmas drinks! Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking (www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk) gives you her top tips for enjoying Christmas in your business.

How to enjoy Christmas in your business

If you’re anything like me, December in the business is a bit of a mad time. You’re trying to clear out everything you’ve got to do so you enjoy at least a couple of days off and you’ve also got to write Christmas cards, decorate your office and go out for some Christmas drinks!

But most small business owners I know will still be sneakily checking their emails when they’ve promised their family they’ll have a break and even doing a bit of work when they get bored.

I think this is because when you’re running a small business, it’s very easy to feel guilty when you take a bit of time for yourself – maybe thinking that you’re not ‘doing it properly’ if you’re not working flat out. Here’s my top tips to ensure that you enjoy Christmas in your business:

1. Take some time off to be with your family.
As someone reminded me yesterday, no-one ever said on their death bed that they regretted spending time with their family, so make sure that when you say you won’t be working, you’re not working. If you work or have a laptop at home, something you might like to try is going for trips out of the house (i.e. a walk, visit friends and family etc) – if you’re not in, you can’t work.

2. Clear your desk
Between now and when you intend to stop working for Christmas, have a clear action plan of all the tasks you want to get finished. This sounds obvious, but it’s all too easy to commit to something the day before you want to stop working and have to work over Christmas as a result.

3. Make some time for you
We often forget about looking after ourselves, but Christmas is an ideal time to make sure you recharge your batteries and prepare yourself for the New Year. If you find it hard to switch your mind off from work, immerse yourself in (non-work related) activities that make your mind work.

4. Tell your customers
If you’re shutting down over Christmas, tell your customers about your plans well in advance. Make sure their needs are catered for before you close, meaning that they’re far less likely to contact you over Christmas.

5. Have a good time
Finally, don’t forget to have a great time. Christmas is the one time of year where you can let your hair down and have a bit of fun, so make sure that you do.

So, have a great Christmas from all of us at Exceptional Thinking and see you in the New Year!!

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Related Forum Posts
Merry Christmas everyone! - I'm just waiting for my son to wake up to start our Christmas traditions and I wanted to drop a quick note here to thank everyone for your support of the forums. We've have an exciting year and hopefully we can reach and help even more entrepreneurs in 2011! I hope you enjoy your families and have a fantastic holiday break... and then get ready to kick some butt with your business in 2011! Merry Christmas everyone!
Being generous has its rewards! - My friend wants to go around the streets on Christmas night giving homeless people $20 bills. Maybe I'll tell him to start a fundraiser, find a few sponsors and hold an event instead? It could be for everyone who don't have a families to be with during Christmas? They can all get together on Christmas day and have some fun and get to know each other. (sort of like a little family?) It probably sounds better in theory though, lol.
Re: Moderators on vacation - Off on my Christmas holidays with my family later today! Actually, we are flying to England and have been watching BBC World News reports about Heathrow struggling to cope with the snow... Hope the trains manage to run on Christmas Eve... I probably won't appear on the forum very often until around 5th January, DV... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody! David H
Re: What are reasons to stay in touch with your customers? - To remind them of a holiday for which they may want to buy a gift from your business and give to the person (such as Mother's day or Christmas). Although I've never done it, I've heard that off holidays (such as Memorial Day) for which we don't think of getting a card on, are the best ones to send them on so they don't get lost in all the other Christmas or Easter cards people are sending at the typical times. I don't know if that's what you're looking for or not. That's all I can think of right now.
Re: Holidays and websites - [quote="OmnivoreInk":2k8j251l]I've got several webzines, on various topics. December 23 and 24 were down days, I'm sad to report that December 25 was a very BUSY day!! Don't people have better things to do on Dec 25 than surf the web!!!! Of course, on Dec 26, they all pour into the streets to return their Christmas gifts - that's very sad... So, anyway, my December has been good, except for the 23 and 24. (Good in the AdSense sense of the word. I'd hoped to get some Amazon business during this month, and got nothing!)[/quote:2k8j251l] I think many people are board on Christmas day and search the web more on any holiday.


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