Small Business Corner

Take Care Of Business (And Yourself)

As Shakespeare wrote, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." Though not adorned with actual crowns, leaders and entrepreneurs may quickly become uneasy under the weight of responsibility that comes from being a visionary, problem fixer, solver and lead. This weight can notoriously be magnified during the holiday season with increased demands professionally and personally, warranted or not. As the leader of an organization, it's critical that you create a mindset and action plan to thrive, not just survive, this holiday season on your own terms.

In order to maintain your role as leader, consider the following 10 tips to enjoy the holiday season while striving for success in your business.

1. Be grateful: Practice gratitude and demonstrate appreciation for employees, fellow leaders and customers. Host a celebration, write a note or distribute a Thank You newsletter to honor the value people have brought over the year. Take some personal time to reflect and be grateful for your life, family and business. While everything may not be perfect, focus on the positive to multiply and enhance your overall outlook. A gratitude journal is the perfect tool to keep at your desk during this season.

2. Overcommunicate: Listening is a key component in communication, although often underutilized. Challenge yourself to listen more and respond accordingly with honesty. Keep in mind that the holidays are challenging for most people. Make sure the message you and your organization sends is vetted through a third party reviewer and is uplifting, not annoying or condescending. Verbiage should always match the brand you represent. To combat to competing messages in the marketplace as well as at home, communicate your message using more than one medium with a greater frequency. After all, we are human and can forget very quickly when inundated.

3. Implement systems: Life happens, but the most efficient businesses can overcome hiccups with systems. Automate processes, payments and internal and external communications, and schedule reminders to keep you and everyone on your team on track. This will ensure you stay running without exhausting your limited human energy to keep things running.

4. Stay motivated and motivate others: Particularly if you manage Generation Xers or millennials, provide a goal assessment and strategies to stay abreast for the remainder of the year. Be very clear about what is to be achieved, role(s) others play and the reward for meeting or exceeding milestones and goals. To stay motivated, remind yourself of what you have accomplished thus far and how your skills contribute to making the organization a better place.

5. Get temporary help: Let’s be frank — there will be more to do during this season. Eliminate procrastination or overwhelm by enlisting temporary staff. Hire a seasonal personal assistant for local errands, hire or barter for increased babysitting hours, shop online and consider a virtual assistant to help with email correspondence and phone calls. It is OK to ask for help and the more hands on deck, the lighter the load.

6. Better yourself: Take time to advance your career or polish your personal brand.

7. Practice connection: Not networking skills. During the holiday season there are plenty of opportunities to meet or be reintroduced to people. Set a goal to not only meet them but to make a connection.

8. Enforce boundaries: Do this in both your personal and professional worlds. It will maximize your time and productivity.

9. Acknowledge grief and support others going through it: Seek professional help if needed. Holidays can be especially difficult following loss of any kind. If you or a team member has recently lost someone or you can't be with family this year, recognize that your expressions of sadness and grief are normal and acceptable — even if it is "the most wonderful time of the year." Give yourself permission to do what you need to in order to cope. Allow yourself to cry, laugh or smile. Know that it’s okay if you want to change how you’ve celebrated the holidays in the past. Take your time and focus on one thing at a time.

10. Allow productive breaks to prevent procrastination: Spend 15 minutes alone in the morning before heading to work to gather your thoughts, meditate or center yourself by taking a walk. Maintain an exercise routine of at least 30 minutes for five days a week and track your physical activity with wearable tech. Meditation and exercise help maintain clarity and proper energy level. Practice working in 30- to 60-minute focused increments to enhance productivity, especially during your personal peak times. Set a timer to stay on track. Pace yourself to prevent burnout.

Success is not only measured by meeting goals but by the quality of relationships. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself, so be sure to take care this holiday season.

© 2019 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This article originally appeared on forbes.com. View original article here.