Enjoy your holidays the right way

Bored during transit?

Holidays are always an exciting time, mostly for the destinations you’ve been planning all year to go to. The long travels, on the other hand, could feel a little mundane.

If you’ve got long trips ahead of you, be sure to check out some of our new Series from this year on the following platforms:

YouTube: Beyond Our Perspective

Our most recent Podcast series has just been launched right on time for the holidays! The first episode covers perspectives of 3 women with different roles—single, entrepreneur, and working mom, in honor of Mother’s Day.

Watch the full episode here.

LinkedIn: C-Level Series

Earlier this year, we started a new video series introducing our C-Levels and how their journeys have been with Mekari. The first episode featured our Chief Customer Officer, who stepped into the role at just 31 years of age.

Check out the 3-min clip here.

Instagram: Meet the Mekarian

As a beloved series among Mekarians and Future Mekarians, "Meet the Mekarian" regularly showcases the different roles within Mekari. A recent one that caught quiet the attention was from our Head of Customer Success.

Learn more about it here.

Spicing things up

Somewhere between your packed itineraries, there lies a “free time” slot which you could use to either doom-scroll, or spark even more joy through device-free group activities. Keep your brains engaged and try out our recommendations below:

1. Arts and crafts. Head down to an arts and crafts store and grab some supplies, then make something for each other. Or, you could try out the trending paint-by-number kits and do them with your friends and family while catching up on life.
2. Making a vision board. This one is a great way to bond while thinking about your long-term goals. The board doesn’t have to be very serious or formal. Grab old magazines and cut out some inspiring images, and present your boards to each other for fun.
3. Learning a new language. Out of all of your friends and family, there might be someone who started learning a language you don’t know, or maybe even fluent in it. You can learn a few phrases from them, or you can even start learning from zero together.

Find more activities alike, including the ways to combat Post-Holiday Blues in our past Holiday edition here.

Making a strong comeback

Though you should not dwell on the past—or the future, and that you should stay present during your time with family and friends, there is also nothing wrong with being prepared for what’s to come.

Be one step ahead and be sure to not these tips for your first week back at work:

1. Do not overbook yourself. It’s tempting to say yes to all the meetings for both upcoming and ongoing projects. Remember to balance the meetings out with self-organization time, to get even more prepared for the catch-ups and strategizing.
2. Set time limits. As you will start off many different tasks at once, set your focus straight by putting time limits for each task. Give stricter time limits for less critical tasks such as checking your inbox or attending unnecessary meetings.
3. Maintain your routine. No matter how packed your schedule gets as you start off the quarter, try to stick with a daily routine. Having a set routine helps to lower stress. This could also be the time to try out a new routine.
4. Schedule a ‘worry time’. According to an American Psychological Association survey, not having enough time is the leading post-holiday stressor. Allocate 15-30 minutes each week to sit on your problems and free up your mind.

As you welcome in the new year, start fresh by exploring more productivity tools that might just be the holy grail you needed to boost your productivity:

• For smooth asynchronous communication: Twist, Loom, Yac
• For more flexible meetings: Headroom, Otter.ai, CoScreen
• For all-in-one productivity systems: Sunsama, Akiflow, Motion
• For mindmapping: Roam, Obsidian, Miro

Read the full Monday Mavens edition from earlier this year, where you’ll get the full scoop on stepping the right foot in in the beginning of the year here.

Thank you for sticking with Monday Mavens in 2024.

Whether you just joined in on our journey this year, or has been a part of our Readers for longer, we appreciate every view, comment, and share that we get.

See you in 2025 for more Maven-shaping insights.