10 Tips for Production Before the Holidays
watch a video about it here
1.) Cancel all calendar meetings before the break.
This one seems redundant--no one should be working anyway, but some people might forget to actually sign out of their apps. So, it'd be nice if no work related stuff pop up during during that time. So, it's a way to help our team members to really disconnect from work.
2.) Plan for out of office coverage.
If there are team members who are also out on the first or second week back, be sure to have a plan in place for coverage and any handoffs that's needed before they're away for vacation.
3.) Check for the client or vendor's time off and let that your team know.
Your team might be waiting for feedback or input from any third-party client or vendor and it'd be nice to know when they're actually here. It allows the team to plan ahead, to make sure that there's enough time to pass on information before everyone's out after the break.
4.) Share who will not be here on the first week back.
Some people might have extended time off and others might be relying on their input on the first week back, so, it'd be nice to know who's away on the first week so that they could sync up before everyone's away in the holiday.
5.) Reschedule meetings on the first week back.
So, very likely on the first week, people might be spending time catching up on missed emails, figuring out their passwords, and there might be some meetings on the first week back that don't really make sense to be on the calendar just yet. Maybe there's a dailies or a review session that doesn't really make sense because not a lot of work was done the week before. So, it'd be nice to free up the calendar to give back some some of the time to a few folks.
6.) Write down Remember your login info and passwords.
Okay, IT probably will not like that, but have a plan in place to make sure that you remember your login or your password you don't want to spend your first day back scrambling to get into a meeting that you cannot log into.
7.) Note the tasks and follow-ups you need to do when you get back,
While all the information is fresh right now, it'd be good to just jot down some follow-ups that you need to do in the new year. It will make your life so much easier on your first day back if you have a list prepared of things to follow up on on your first day.
8.) Prepare the onboarding task for new artists.
So, some artists might be joining on the first day back, so it'd be nice to take this time while it's a little quiet (or maybe not) but at least the information is fresh in your mind to prepare some onboarding steps to make sure that everything is in place and ready to go once the they join the team.
9.) Clean your desk.
You probably got an email already to throw out your food or dirty dishes on your desk. Pretty self-explanatory. Nobody likes science experiments over the holidays and you don't want to be that person to stink up the place on the first day back. So, clean your desk!
10.) Unplug, sign out, enjoy your time off.
Your brain and your body need this break. I know there's a lot to do but it's very rare to have at this time where it's not just you who's out of office, it's EVERYBODY, which means no one's expected to work at all and you're not missing anything. So, really take this time. Your brain needs the rest, your body needs to rest, and you need to unplug, sign out of all the apps, sign out of all the emails, you don't need them. Nothing will burn down and they'll be there, back for everyone again, on your first day back. So, enjoy the holidays!
BONUS TIP:
Speaking of EOY tasks and habits, I’ve put together a Spotify playlists of podcasts that cover goal setting here! If you need some inspo, check it out!
