Taking Advantage of the Holiday Season

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The holidays I are often seen as a time to disengage from our regular schedule, relax and celebrate. It is all good. But those activities could be done in multiple ways. We usually have extra free time throughout the holidays. If you plan your free time wisely, this season you can enjoy the break and also advance your professional agenda. Let’s see how.

Begin Seasonal Networking

The holidays are a great time to reconnect with friends, family and business partners. Often these are some of the people you have been intending to contact and rebuild relationships, but had no time to do so. You’ve got the time now! Make a list of all the “lost and forgotten”, existing and new connections that you would like to renew, strengthen or start. Schedule a 15-minutes time slot a day to send holiday greetings. VIP contacts deserve sending a special greeting. Think of a hand-signed card or a small gift. You have a great reason to reach out to anyone to wish them happy holidays and reignite the relationship.

Seasonal greetings are also a great way to take your relationship one notch further, especially for those you sent a bit earlier then the holidays. Offer and ask for a meeting, introduction and other professional favors in your holiday letter. People tend to anticipate a holiday season with joyous disposition. They feel happier and that increases the chances of them saying “Yes” to your request/offer.

It’s also a good time to strategically think of your networking and develop a system that won’t let you fall behind the next year. Think of the program or tool that lets you track important connections and remind to follow-up.

Recharge in a Smart Way

The holidays are the time to have a break from a daily routine and recharge our physical and emotional batteries. Taking rest, however, doesn’t mean doing nothing. On the contrary, it means engaging in new and fun activities. Plan for your recharge time and you will be amazed how many fun and, simultaneously, professionally beneficial activities you can engage in over the holidays.

Did you put aside all the great books and articles you wanted to read over the course of the year, but never had the time for? How about taking that extra on-line course on public speaking on Lynda.com? Did you wish to spend some time to finally find your ideal time planning app? And, for many of us, updating a LinkedIn profile has been in a to-do list forever but never seems to get done. Guess what? Now is the right time.

These are all important and fun activities that you can do this holiday season. Have a smart plan for your holiday time, and you will find yourself coming back to work not only recharged but also professionally enhanced.

Create Magic

Let’s admit it. We all believe in holiday magic. We secretly (or openly) hope that something wonderful is about to happen to us. So why not to create a little bit of magic for others and be a part of someone’s holiday dream? As you know, good deeds will always boomerang back in one way or the other. Brightening up someone’s holidays will give you a tremendous dopamine (happy hormone) boost, making your own celebration even more joyful. So, what kind of professional magic you can create and give away this season? Here are some ideas:

•  Write a thoughtful reference for colleagues (employees, partners, service providers) you enjoyed working with and praise them publicly on LinkedIn (other social media)
• Make valuable introductions and connect people
• Answer a question on Quora
• Donate an hour of your time for professional business coaching to a company or an individual

All those activities will create many magical and grateful moments. Imagine how much of help, value and impact your efforts can offer for those in professional need. When positive things happen over the holiday seasons it gives an extra boost of hope and belief.

Reach out to people, plan for smart activities, and be a giver to take a full advantage of this holiday season. It will set you up for a new successful year ahead. 

Happy Holidays!