High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Tips for Managing Stress Over the Holidays

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 5 Tips for Managing Stress Over the Holidays: "You might feel like you have to do everything and be everywhere, especially when technology makes it so easy. But it's just not the case. You might be missed, but your time and energy is limited, so use it wisely."

• 5 Ways to Kickstart Your Side Hustle: "Ask your HR department if they provide access or discounts to premium resources, business management tools or training. Some organizations offer education budgets; use those resources to get ahead."

• How to Help Your Employees Stay Productive Around the Holidays: "closing the office for more days during the holidays has a direct and positive impact on in-office productivity."

• 5 Healthy Resolutions to Make: "This is the easiest of the five, and yet it is so often overlooked, especially by men. An annual checkup is your chance to measure your progress from year to year."
• Why Soul is the Secret to Family Business Success:"when you realize that you're closer to the back end [of life] than the front, you begin to wonder about whether your life has meant something."

6 Ways to Put Your Holiday to Work for Your Career

For many of us the holidays offer an opportunity to take time away from the office to enjoy time with family. We might look at the holidays as a way to think about anything but work.

However, it can also be a great time to consider the new year and prepare to get off to a strong start.

Here are six ways to do just that:

Clean out email. Achieving in-box zero is a lofty goal for many and perhaps one you’ve failed to realize. Take an hour or two, if your email habits warrant it, and clear out as many old emails as possible. You’ll experience less stress and anxiety when you return to the office with a more stream-lined in-box.

Update your wardrobe. If you receive some cash or a gift card or two for a holiday gift, and even if you don’t, pick up an item or two to spruce up your style at work. Improving your appearance at work can instill greater confidence and increase your prospects for that promotion in the new year.

Update your resume. This is a great time of the year to update your resume (and LinkedIn profile) with your work highlights from the past year. Do this while these are still fresh in your mind. You might also rethink and reconsider your career plans and objectives.

Reach out to key contacts. The holidays are always a great time to connect with family and friends and it can also make sense to reach out to some of the important connections in your network with a Christmas card or even a brief email or Facebook message to extend wishes for a happy holiday and happy new year. 

Resolve to make changes. If you’ve taken some time for self-reflection regarding your career, you’ve likely identified some areas you can make improvements or some habits or practices that are holding you back in your career. Resolve to sign up for Toastmasters to improve your public speaking skills, or take that coding class, or new manager training you need to become more effective.

Rest and relaxation. Despite everything mentioned above, do not spend too much time over the holidays focused on your career. Use the time to get away from the daily emails and phone calls. Turn off that mobile and unplug for a few days while you enjoy the holiday with family and friends.

5 Ways to Ensure Your Vacation Benefits Your Career

A summer vacation can be a great time to build energy for your career or job if you do it right. Unfortunately, many of us don’t know how to relax, nor do we know how to leave work behind.

In order to gain the most benefit from your vacation and return with renewed enthusiasm and focus at work implement the following guidelines for your trip.

Don’t check emails or respond to texts and phone calls. When you are on vacation you need to be on vacation. This is a time for making a clear break with work and get some time to recharge. Make the effort to catch up on your messages before you leave and be sure to set up an out-of-office message.

Be sure to relax and avoid constant motion on your vacation. The point of a vacation or holiday is to relax and recharge, rather than run from one event to another or one historic site to another architectural wonder of the world. By all means enjoy your vacation and see and do whatever you wish but do so at a leisurely pace. Effective pre-planning can help you appreciate the locale while also ensuring that you’re getting in some R & R.

Consume responsibly. It can be tempting to overindulge and eat anything you want or to drink too much while on vacation. While it’s okay to enjoy some of the treats you might discover on your travels or enjoy a drink of the local wine, beer, or whisky, if you overdo it you’ll find that you feel less energized for your return to work and will want time to “recover” from your holiday.

Get enough sleep. Like we just discussed, be sure to get enough rest. Balance a late night out with a leisurely morning and since you’re on vacation, why not treat yourself to a nap? The important consideration here though is to avoid changing your schedule so radically that it becomes difficult to readjust to your normal work schedule.

Give yourself at least a day to recover before returning to work. You don’t want to fly home at 8 pm on a Sunday night and head back to work at 8 am the next morning. 

Take a day to return home, resume your typical routine, catch up on the laundry, and prepare yourself mentally for the return to work.