🧕 Have a great Eid Al-Fitr holiday!
Fill your evenings on break with these self-fulfilling activities.
Holidays are an integral part of productivity. Not only do they provide a chance for us to recharge, the time off also allows us to regroup with our inner selves and reflect on what we really would like to achieve in the next chapter of our lives.
As you plan out how you would spend the following off week, don’t forget to leave out some room for organizing and mapping our your thoughts and plans in between all the fun festivities!
Ditch the screens to truly recharge
Everyone has the right to choose how they would like to use their free time. But, for those moments when you start to feel a little drowsy and drained from binge-watching 5 seasons of a TV show, or marathon-ing 4 movies straight, let your eyes rest and connect with your family and friends with these device-free group activities:
Art and crafts
Head down to an arts and crafts store and grab some supplies, then make something for each other. Or, you could try out the trending paint-by-number kits and do them together while catching up on life.
Bake
You can pretty much find out how to make anything just by typing it into google. Plus, even taking a trip to the supermarket to shop for the supplies with your cousins or besties can be quite fun on itself!
Learn a new language
Out of everyone you meet in a family gathering, there might be someone who started learning to speak in a language you don’t know, or maybe even fluent in it. If not, you can even start learning the basics of a language together, too.
Plan a trip
If you’re feeling a bit bored after 1pm or 2pm on Eid day.. why not plan a trip? It could be an actual trip you’re scheduling to take, or an imaginative one as a form of manifestation 😉.
Make a vision board
This one is a great way to bond while thinking about your long-term goals. The board doesn’t have to be very serious or formal. Grab old magazines and cut out some inspiring images, and present your boards to each other for fun.
Feeling a bit more inspired? Find more activities to do instead of staring into your screen in the full article here.
Timebox your Friday afternoon
There are a total of 168 hours in a week. By taking just 1-2 hours out of the 168 to strategize for the following work week, your future self would definitely thank you. Why Friday afternoon? It’s a time period economists like to call a “low opportunity cost” time, as you’re slowing your pace down.
Based on the viral TED Talk by time management expert Laura Vanderkam, set your priorities straight and get on top of your time management with these steps:
Figure out your priorities.
Write next week’s review
Pretend like it’s the end of next week and you’re giving yourself a self-assessment review. Right down 3-5 things you did that made it a great week for you professionally.
Write a letter to your loved ones
Families often write to each other—especially during holidays, to recap their year and share the amazing things they did during the year. What 3-5 things did you do that week, that made it remarkable to you personally?
Break your priorities down into doable steps.
Incorporate these doable steps into your schedule.
Make a short 3-category priority list: career, relationships, self.
Put 2-3 items in each list.
Look out over the whole of the next week, and see where you can insert them in.
The steps formulated by Vanderkam above are also applicable for planning for the next month or even the next year. Watch the full 12-minute TED Talk session here.
Getting a head start
Other than the time management method suggested by Vanderkam, we’ve compiled a few other ‘productivity formulas’ from a previous Monday Mavens edition, that could help guide you as you ease your way back into work after your holiday.
3x3 Prioritization Matrix
This visualization tool helps you categorize activities based on the effort it takes to do it and the impact it will create in 4 quadrants: quick wins, major projects, filler activities, and ‘time sucks’. Download the template here.
1-on-1 to lay out the rest of the Quarter
Pick up where you left off before the holiday and schedule a 1-on-1 with your lead/supervisor to discuss topics such as areas you’re most and least satisfied with and things you’d like to delegate, among other 16 valuable 1-on-1 topics.
3:1 Positivity Ratio
American researcher, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, stated that it takes 3 positive experiences to make up for 1 negative experience in your life. Balance out negativity by challenging your instincts and trying out there 9 other ways.
As you’re reading this Monday Mavens edition, we hope you’re surrounded by the warmth of your loved ones and exchanging conversations with one another.
If you found any of our editions insightful, it might be the right conversation starter to recommend us to your family and friends! 🤗
Eid Al-Fitr Mubarak to all of us who celebrate, we’ll see you again next Monday.