Christmas and its influence on work

In the past few weeks, I’ve talked about Christmas from a few angles. I’ve mentioned discount Christmas cards, personalized Christmas cards, and Christmas jobs. But, today, I’d like to mention how the Christmas season affects the work of a consultant.

I’m a marketing consultant. As companies lead up to the holidays, I typically find myself extremely busy in the fall. Everybody wants to get their marketing materials, holiday cards, tradeshows, direct mail campaigns, new ads, press releases and product launches out of the way. So, when December rolls around, I usually have a somewhat quiet month. I use this time to send out holiday cards and thank you notes to my clients, vendors and partners. I start orgazing for tax season and sometimes even start my taxes. I also reflect on the past year and set goals for the year ahead. I also almost always have a few proposals for new contracts. I usually take two weeks off for vacation, too.

But, for other people who work from home as consultants, December is busy. My graphic designer friend always has a ton of work designing Flash ecards, printed cards, holiday direct mail and other materials. One of my friends often finds herself doing annual reports and year-end newsletters for her clients. And an executive recruiter I know spends much of December trying to chase down job candidates while most people have stopped looking for jobs (good tactic!).

The great thing about consulting and working from home is that you can design your work to fit with your life. Want December off? Plan for it! Love to work in December? Go for it. Become a consultant and call the shots.

"Christmas and its influence on work" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.