Holiday Productivity Hacks for Remote Workers

Focusing during the holiday season seems more difficult than picking out the perfect gift! Your brain is in 20 different directions — major FOMO for missing out on the first snowfall (or fake snow at least here in Tampa), which holiday cookie am I going to eat next, where do I get a tree from, and oh, and IS he proposing at the Christmas lights tonight?!!

We know you have Q4 deadlines, and there are only so many "Can we circle back next year"s that we can throw out, so let's talk about how we can increase productivity rates for you, or even your team, too.

Take Time Off

We put this first because it's important! The best thing you can do to focus is focus on whatever is driving your focus away. If you have PTO to use up, do it! And, don't wait until the week of Christmas. It's okay to take time off whenever you need it.

Be More Flexible With Your Schedule (*If you can)

Know your body! If you aren't a morning person, quit forcing it. If you need to log off early for your kiddos holiday concert, do it. Be flexible with yourself during this time and shift your schedule to fit you, because you have a lot on your plate and you need to be on your game!

Stop Multitasking

No, you cannot take your conference call while you are shopping for your SO's present. Do one thing at a time, because we know that with multitasking, comes mistakes and overwhelm.

Declutter your Workspace (digitally and physically)

Decluttering your mind starts with decluttering your space. When you are moving so fast, you forget to take the time to get organized. With organization, comes efficiency! Organize your files, and your home screen, declutter your inbox, and clean out your desk drawers — start in once place and see how it goes!

Plan and Prep!

If you know you have big events coming up, or if you are taking time off soon, plan out in advance how to give yourself the break you know you deserve during that time.

Stay Aware

Your screentime app or tools like, one sec, can be helpful to make you aware of what's distracting you. What apps are you going to the most? What website do you find yourself doomscrolling on? Monitor this and know what you need to minimize to get your focus back. You can even use a time-tracking app like Toggl to break down what tasks you're spending too much time on or to see where you got distracted throughout the day. This is the first step in cutting out distractions!

Time block

I know you hear it all the time! Time blocking works for a lot of people. Time blocking is where you set aside certain time blocks for certain projects or tasks specifically. Think about it as a schedule meeting with yourself to allow yourself to focus on one thing at a time, during that time period.

Take Lunch

This is something that has been difficult for me in past roles. I would commonly take a "working lunch" to ensure I am always on and handling things. However, at the beginning of 2024, I started clocking out for lunch and it's made a huge difference! I realized I needed to give my brain a chance to just zone out for a minute before jumping back to my to-do list. Take a walk, go out to lunch, scroll on TikTok for a bit — just find something to get your brain off work for a half hour to give your brain a break!

Snooze Your Notifications

Snooze your phone or desktop notifications, we all know that they are the #1 thing that can shift our focus away from the task at hand. If you don't have this setting, you can always use a tool such as Freedom to help it do this for you. We know that some notifications are urgent, so it can be helpful to set certain times during the day that are "notification-free" or do this for small portions of time.

We hope you can take away a few of these hacks during this season to help you focus on your to-do list and get all your tasks done before the new year.

Stay tuned for more Savvy Edit blogs every Monday and Friday!