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Do you ever get to the end of winter break and wonder where the time went? I can’t tell you how many times that has happened to me. In this post, I will share with you five productive things to do over winter break so you get to the end of break feeling like it was productive.
Winter Break Time!
1. Be Intentional
The first thing to do over winter break is to be intentional. We know that what is important gets planned.
I hear the protest now, “I want to relax and not schedule every minute of the day.” That is totally understandable. I am certainly not saying that you have to be productive during every minute of the winter break and take no time for relaxation.
That being said, I would argue that intentional relaxation is still productive. However, if you are not intentional with your time, you will find yourself lounging around and still not doing the relaxing things you wanted to do.
Take some time at the beginning of winter break to make a list of important things that you want to do for the next week or two. Do you have a book that you want to read? Do you need some self-care time with a nice bath or massage?
Are there friends you wanted to touch base with? Are there activities that you wanted to do with tfamily? Maybe you are hoping to complete some projects to start the new year off right.
No matter what you are hoping to accomplish, it will only happen if you are intentional with your time.
2. Goal Set for the New Year
With a few days off, doing some goal setting over winter break can be a great, productive use of time.
This past year may not have been the best for you, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start the new year off strong.
To get started with goal setting, it can be helpful to spend some time on self-reflection. This step will help bring some clarity on where you are starting out and where you want to go in the new year.
If you would like to dive deeper into goal setting, you can watch some of my videos here…
Once you know where you want to go, you can set a few S.M.A.R.T. goals for the new year. I do not consider these the same as New Year’s Resolutions. Resolutions are rarely kept whereas goals can be reached and worked towards.
After developing your goals, you can work on an action plan that will set you up for success. Taking the time to do this now will help you to prepare for the new year.
3. Schedule Time to Make Family Memories
If you celebrate the holidays this time of year, you may think that making family memories is obvious. However, this is another area that is prone to pass us by if we aren’t careful.
It is possible that we can fill the time running from one activity to the other without really taking the time to savor each moment. In the busyness of it all, the actual memory ends up passing us by.
Maybe you aren’t going anywhere this year because of everything going on in our world. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make some special memories.
New Memories
This might be your year to get creative. Are there drive-through events that you could participate in? Are there some virtual events you could sign up for?
Perhaps you have never had a baking day. This could be your year to make a few treats to pass out to the neighbors. It has been said that “it is more blessed to give than receive.” You are really creating two memories here. The time spent making the items and the feeling of sharing your hard work with others in the neighborhood. There are ways to be creative and leave it on their porch in a socially distanced manner.
One of my favorite childhood memories was driving around town looking at Christmas lights. I still enjoy doing this as an adult. You could grab some cocoa and drive, or walk around town looking at lights. It is a pretty inexpensive way to make a lasting memory.
4. Prepare for the New Year
We already discussed spending some time on goal setting. If you went through that process, you probably discovered some areas where your current habits do not reflect the self-identity you want to have in the future.
Spend some time looking at your action plan in order to see what habits you will be working on changing. Then ask yourself, is there something I can do now to set myself up for success in the new year?
This can be a very productive way to spend winter break.
New Habits
If one of your goals is to be tidier, you may want to spend some time doing some decluttering. I have a few spots that have really become clutter magnets. I am planning to take two days to really work on decluttering and organizing a couple of spaces in my home. This will set me up for success moving into the new year.
It is easier to start new habits if you have already laid a foundation for success.
Perhaps you have some specific health goals you are working towards. Take some time over winter break to look at your action plan and see how you can set yourself up for success.
Do you need to clean out the pantry and cupboards? Do you need to try out some different home workouts in order to see which ones you will want to stick with? Is this the time to try some meal prep so you can think about how to incorporate that into your schedule?
Going through the experiment stage now will help you to hit the ground running (maybe literally, if that is your goal) in the new year.
Take on Hard Things
Preparing to tackle financial goals can be the most intimidating. However, taking some time over winter break to work through the emotions of getting started should not be neglected.
Many people don’t ever start working towards their financial goals because they feel too overwhelmed with their current situation and do not want to face the reality. Gather up all the information you need to help yourself take an honest look at where you are starting from. Then decide what you can do to prepare to reach this goal.
Do you need to create a budget? Are you going to use the envelope system? Do you need to set up a tracking system? Do you need to cancel some subscriptions? These types of things can take extra time and winter break is a time to accomplish them.
No matter what your goal is, look at your action plan and make some decisions about what you can do to reach your goals. The time you spend preparing now will serve you well as you move into the new year.
5. Self-Care
I would be remiss to not talk about taking some time for self-care over the winter break as well. If you have been following any of my work for a while, you will know that sometimes I have a little different view of self-care.
In my estimation of things, anything that can reduce stress and decision fatigue will help my overall well-being and is a win. Therefore, the things I talked about in preparing for the new year all seem like self-care activities to me.
That being said, don’t let the opportunity to cozy up with a good book or take a bubble bath, pass you by. Intentionally schedule some time for the activities that you find relaxing. This is your chance to recharge.
Please note that I said intentionally schedule. While spontaneous self-care moments can and do occur, I think that there are more benefits to scheduling it.
If I was not planning to take some time for self-care and then I spontaneously decide to do something, it can be hard for me to relax. I will usually spend all the time thinking about the long list of other things I “should” be doing.
If the self-care moment can’t be relaxing and refreshing, it might as well not have occurred. Maybe that is just me. I don’t think I am alone though.
Conclusion
We can easily mindlessly fill our winter break time. If you want to set yourself up to have a productive winter break that you can feel good about, remember to be intentional, set goals, make family memories, prepare for the new year, and take some time for self-care.
Don’t let this precious time pass you by!
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