This article was published on Orange County American Marketing Association (OCAMA) Official Blog

With the holiday season in full force, many of our to-do lists are getting almost as long as Santa’s. But how do we manage to stay focused on our career opportunities with everything going on? Here are five simple things to help keep you on the track to success:

1 – Refresh Your Resume

Whether you are comfortable with your company and career or prepping to join the busy job search in the New Year, it is important to keep your resume up to date. This relatively simple task can be a great way to keep your head in the game and continue to make goals and dreams for the future. Double check your job responsibilities, as many of our positions and duties change annually as our organization evolves. Enhance the listing where available and triple check grammar throughout the document.

One of the mistakes many people overlook when resumes have bulleted lists is switching from past tense to present tense. For those employers looking for your attention to detail and accuracy, this pitfall can make or break which pile your resume stacks onto. I generally use past tense since a resume is there to show your historical experience. If you are currently working at a job, then leave the present tense to the interview conversation. Don’t forget to keep your digital resume up to date as well, including your LinkedIn profile.

2 – Start a Success Journal

This one may be unfamiliar to you but its power can be magnificent. In addition to appearing in a different form within my organizational leadership graduate studies, my mother actually recommended this soon after I achieved my bachelor’s degree. The holiday season often inspires us to reflect on our successes and lessons learned over the past year and look ahead to new opportunities available in the future. Take advantage of this time and begin an annual success journal.

Write about the major projects you accomplished at work, in the community or even at home. Each section can be as short as a paragraph or as long as you wish. Don’t worry about the technicalities of writing; just concentrate on recording the positive changes in your life and career. This living document serves as a personal reminder of all of the endeavors that you have undertaken and overcome. This can be very helpful for not only boosting your self-esteem but also serves as a quick cheat sheet for talking points at an important networking event or interview. For those projects that you extracted significant lessons from, the journal can also help reinforce those teachings, ensuring you keep them in mind the next time they arise in similar situations.

3 – Secure Your Central Source of Information

As marketers, we all understand the importance of keeping up on the latest industry trends but often struggle with finding the time to consume all of the information necessary to apply in the workplace. Well there is good news! Not surprisingly, technology has made it easier for us to organize and keep a pulse on what is happening in our industries and interests. If you don’t already have a go-to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) account to help you find your most important topics, consider establishing one that you can depend upon.

Explore all your options. Feedly is one of the most popular web-based RSS readers that helps collate information based on your interests but there are also other alternatives that you can try out. Here are some to explore:

• InoReader – This easy to use, clean, and uncluttered feed puts your content front and center. It offers different views and themes to tailor your reading experience to your preferences and has many keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate through the platform. Like Feedly, InoReader has premium accounts but unlike Feedly, it doesn’t require you to pay for something as basic as search.
• AOL Reader – Yes AOL still exists and although it might seem surprising, the former giant does have its own RSS reader application that actually works pretty well. It is currently completely free to use and has an iOS and Android app on the way. It trumps Feedly in terms of the services that it can integrate with including the popular Evernote application.
• StumbleUpon – Users of this slightly different platform have said that StumbleUpon puts “the entire Internet, all in one place,” and helps people “map to an adventure you wouldn’t otherwise have found out about.” It helps you discover new and interesting stuff on the Web based on your personal interests. You can even install a browser toolbar that helps you identify quality topics and introduce them to the StumbleUpon community.

4 – Resist Taking on New Projects

This recommendation comes from the job search engine Monster. Contributor Roberta Matuson states that, “By the time the end of the year rolls around, most people are giving all they have just to finish what’s already on their plate. Adding a new project to an already full plate can easily send you over the edge. Hold off on starting new initiatives until after the first of the year. You will return from your hiatus refreshed and ready to go.”

Alternatively, although not the reality for every industry or job position, typically as we near the end of the year and the holiday spirit sets in, we tend to see a lull in productivity and demand for our time. If you are in this boat, resist the urge to speed up. In most cases it’s the nature of the business to give us periodic down time. If you are type A and need to be moving all the time you can still adjust accordingly by going back to basics and spending your energy on finding ways to become more efficient at routine tasks so that when the busy season starts up again, you can breeze through them and focus on tasks at hand.

5 – Keep up Your Fitness Regiment

Although this may seem a bit out of place, it’s one of the most important factors that can help you stay on track while others submit to seasonal indulgences. Whether you are a runner, dancer, swimmer, yogi or hiker, maintaining your regular exercise regimen will reduce your stress, lift your mood, improve your self-esteem and help you get a restful night’s sleep. Matuson also refers to the importance of this aspect of your life by saying, “Seasonal stress comes with the territory. Customers expect deadlines to be met, even when they are out of the office preparing for the holidays. Maintaining your regular workout routine can help keep your energy level up and your weight gain down.”

Different activities have different benefits to our mental health. Find your favorite and stick to it, especially during the holidays where night time comes sooner (at least in the northern hemisphere and Southern California), and foods get more “comforting.” The positive effects of exercising can help you get through the hectic responsibilities of hosting guests at the best holiday parties of the season while helping you center yourself when it comes to the workplace.