Organising Your Work This Christmas

We’re as fond of winding down at Christmas as the next company, but we know there are a couple of strings to pull before everyone signs off for a week or so. Standing between you and the eggnog is a sleigh-load of little tasks that demand your attention on this side of the 25th December.

So to get a head-start for those final turns of the festive key, here’s what you have to bear in mind when business is wrapping up…

Mail your Christmas cards

For client and freelancer alike, it only takes a little bit of thought to make them feel valued. Christmas cards aren’t going away any time soon, and there’s a certain concreteness to a message when it’s there in your hand, reminding your associates about the brilliance they’ve exhibited this past year.

Check the exact address of your clients, so you’re fully confident that you’re sending them to the right place. Locations of limited companies can be found on the Companies House website; if you’ve outsourced to any freelancers, their address will usually be on the invoice. Add a personal message in the card – it’s a slight consideration that means an awful lot.

Remind people of festive deadlines

It’s highly likely that your timeframe for ongoing projects has been squeezed somewhat by the holidays. Work may be due an extra week or so before the end of December, which leaves you with less wiggle room to get everything finalised and sent off to your client base.

When managing a remote team, make sure other freelancers are aware of festive submission deadlines. Project management solutions like Skwish are handier now than ever, nudging your team towards timely completion by laying out their assignments in a work calendar. They can also see what comments you’ve made on the brief, particularly useful for those who’ll be tinkering over the Christmas period for a January submission.

Announce opening dates

In the B2B arena, a Christmas break can take multiple forms. Your own policy might be different to that of one client or another; likewise, your freelancers may assume that things won’t be up and running again until a date that’s utterly misguided. To ensure everyone’s in the loop, reiterate the entire length of your festive sabbatical directly to those it may affect.

A chain email is fine, for the most part. Mentioning it in a newsletter is even better, as the announcement just seems more official because of it, less prone to being passed over in someone’s inbox.

We hope you’re feeling calmer about your Christmas workflow now that at least three tasks have been nailed down. Both you and your remote team might want to try out Skwish, the free task management portal, to soothe the lion’s share of your worries – see what we do, and give your organisational skills the boost they’ve been craving.