Between shopping for gifts, making appearances at a dozen different social gatherings, and carving out the time to not just find those Christmas lights but remember how the heck you hung them last year, it’s a miracle any work gets done during the holiday season at all.

It doesn’t have to be this way. December can still be a productive month at work, especially if you keep your wits about you and think strategically about the best ways to spend the time you’ve got without missing out on what makes this season so fun.  

Take Advantage of Travel

If your holiday plans call for plane or train travel, use the transit time to catch up on projects in relative peace and quiet. Clearing your plate beforehand means you’ll have more time to spend relaxing with the people you care about.

Alternatively, give grandma a chance to babysit while you retreat for a couple of hours of focused work. Knowing you won’t be coming home to hundreds of unread emails does wonders for a festive attitude (as does a brief break from that gaggle of well-meaning-but-exhausting family members hopped up on bourbon balls).

Never Stop Networking

Visiting friends or family in another city? See if you can meet clients or colleagues who live nearby for lunch or coffee. Even reconnecting with old friends can be productive networking—you never know what your former classmates might be up to now.

Unplug

Anybody with a screen time monitor on their iPhone knows the results can be an uncomfortable eye-opener. Those 60, 120, or 180 minutes each day (gulp!) spent flicking through social media, news headlines, or your digital drug of choice are a powerful untapped resource. Take a temporary holiday hiatus from tech time wasters and watch breathing room magically appear in your schedule.

Don’t overdo

During the holiday season, calendars can start to feel a little congested. Holiday parties can be fun—and a great chance to strengthen relationships with your colleagues and clients—but too much time spent celebrating can undermine your workplace efforts with that foggy feeling that comes from one too many eggnogs. Remember, you’re allowed to skip a few parties (or just the cocktails), eat what makes you feel vital, and don’t give up on your movement routine.

Dominate down time

Are the holidays a slow season for your business? Take advantage of the lull by doing all those once-in-a-while things that are so easy to put off, like updating your website, freshening up your social media accounts, getting new head shots, and making sure your year-end books are in order.

“Mid-late December is always an interesting mix of workflow slowing down, but everyone wants everything wrapped by the end of the year. Keeping this in mind, I try to carve out longer blocks of time each week for bigger picture or more strategic projects, including end-of-the-year clean-up projects like my desktop (actual desk and computer!) and my inbox,” says VIDA CEO Melanie Marconi. It feels great to greet the New Year recharged, refreshed, and with all your administrative ducks in a row.

Be Realistic

If you have a lot of demands on your time this season, it’s probably not realistic to expect you’ll get as much done as normal. Be gentle with yourself. Prioritize what truly needs doing and backburner anything that can wait until the post-holiday productivity boom. Then, relax and enjoy the festivities, knowing that your clients and colleagues are all likely in the same boat.