The holidays are here, this means a lot of holiday distractions.

“Tis the season to be jolly!”
A phrase we hear a lot every December, after a year’s wait. December is all about family, friends and in house cozy gatherings. All this makes it easy to lose track of reality and get sucked in to the beauty of this holiday, a much needed change.

In the midst of the holiday season, everything becomes so hectic. It becomes difficult to manage our time between our work, studies, friends and family. We get caught up between planning, shopping, traveling and studying.
Striking the right balance becomes vague.

On the other hand, December represents the time when people start preparing for their professional designations such as the CFA, scheduled exam in June, and FRM, scheduled exam in May. With this in mind, students lose track of their studying schedule. However, students should have fun during this period and refill their batteries before their studying gets serious.

Here are some tips on avoiding Holiday Distractions:

1. Plan ahead and set a schedule:
   If you already know you’re spending a lot of time with family and friends, it is important to set a schedule and plan ahead of time. This is helpful so that you do not fall behind with your work and studies. Setting a schedule can be effective to make you motivated to finish your work.
2. Prioritize your tasks:
   Write down your personal and professional tasks down on a paper. Once everything is visible in front of you, decide which tasks are to be done and which are to be dropped (till next year). This makes you feel relieved and motivated.
3. Limit your distractions:
   We cannot control external distractions however, we  do have some control over the internal ones. Focus on your work and studies. Do not get distracted with shopping online and looking for restaurants.
4. Start working on personal and professional tasks early:
   Start your holiday shopping and due projects early. This helps you remove a few items off your to-do-list.

The holiday distractions can be stressful at some point with all the planning and preparations taking place. However, we choose to make it hectic or not with the right tips. Also, remember that it is okay to take  few days off to refresh during the holiday season to get a head start in the new year as the following next months will hold a lot of hard work and long hours.

Best of luck in your studies!

Happy holidays from IFA family!