By the time this goes to air, Easter will be over for another year and most of us back to school and work.  I do hope you enjoyed a nice break, perhaps with the Easter Bunny and your family and friends.

This year sees Easter, ANZAC Day and the Warrnambool May Race carnival fall one after the other which means here in Warrnambool (where I am based), we have four weeks in a row that include a public holiday instead of a work day.  And even if you’re not in Warrnambool but are elsewhere in Australia or New Zealand you’d have three weeks in a row like this.  I’m curious, do you feel extra pressure because of these public holidays?

I love having a mini break, but admit that so many public holidays close together can wreck havoc on productivity, especially in a small business.  So what are my tips for staying on track?

• I believe in the power of “The List” – I am an ardent list maker and I believe having a list can assist in prioritising workflow.  Include sections in your list for urgent and non-urgent matters, and then schedule time to complete each job, just don’t take up all your time preparing the list!
• question the necessity for a face to face meeting prior to scheduling it, and if it is required, place a reasonable time limit on the meeting
• recognise that everyone is in the same predicament of short weeks and as such it is courteous to provide ample time for work to be completed, and
• remember that rarely will the world end if something doesn’t get done.  I’m all for working towards deadlines and appreciate there are some very time sensitive matters, but let’s keep our emotions in check and look out for our well being too

If you have any further tips to keep on top of things during this avalanche of public holidays, please share them.

Regards