During the holiday crunch time, it is important to realize that nothing is set in stone other than planning for the unplanned. Typically during this period of time, colleagues are preparing for time off and gearing up for the New Year’s new projects or continuing of existing projects and most importantly putting budgets together and planning how to spend less and save more to run a project effectively or finance a matter better.
Some of the quick tips for the year end analysis and analysts that are trying to close out the year productively:
- Send out the holiday cards - Call do the team and let them know what to expect is one of the best parts of being prepared is preparing those who work on the matters that end of the year is coming and close outs are imminent. This is a strong motivator to prioritize tasks and information gathering requests for the appropriate teams and centralizing which projects or matter require more attention than usual.
- Black Friday specials - set the final date for deliverables, which set the tone as to when completions or submissions need to be delivered in order to be factored into planning.
- Season’s greetings - When the office is closed, the office is open. Some tasks and communications for planning are not difficult to keep track of, especially when enjoying a holiday feast. Remember to type those random thoughts that will help in the New Year for that project or analysis.
- 4. The Christmas Club Account is still here - the books don’t close until the end of January – when capturing financial information for year end, official planning and final touches do not become official until mid-January. This is variable room when unforeseen or unplanned activities can be supplemental planned or foreseen just in time for first quarter recognition.
- Holiday Punch – usually the best project management conversations are at the holiday cocktail party and a good time to use your project management soft skills to network with stakeholders, managers, and contributors on existing and upcoming projects to plan creatively.
- Last minute shopping – resources that were not previously available may be available in the coming year, so best to check with your organizations PMO or other project managers to verify if resources are available.
- Fruitcake galore – weed out last minute stakeholder ideas are not necessarily easy to digest, therefore table them for when best to use and vet.
Aside from the year end close out and the New Year planning, there is a need to relax and enjoy the holiday season.