Asking you to stay productive over the holidays is like separating morning and dew. It is holidays- a time to lay back and do silly stuff for fun. However, amidst the fun, there are a number of things that you can and should do to ensure that the time leading up to Christmas is well spent.

A great way to spend your vacation is to read great books, no matter in which genre your interests lie, whether it is crime, fiction, romance or even history. Catch up on those books or articles you’ve been longing to get to so badly. It’s really hard to find time to read when you’re busy with work, but now that you’re on vacation, you can cuddle up with a blanket and a great book. You can even join a book club. People often choose to join a book club where every week the group could decide on a common book to read and when they have, they sit together and share their incites and views. Give it a try and see how it goes.

You can also try learning something new something out of the box and which interests you. Learn how to cook something either informally in your kitchen or formally, by registering for a short cooking course. Learn how to do gardening or even how to design clothes if you are interested in fashion. Update your computing skills or better yet, register for a driving course. There are tones of things you are yet to be skilled in and this list is way too remote to be comprehensive. So, get on with it this season!

Instead of merely being a couch potato, why not productively binge on discovery channels or documentaries. Holidays are a time for binge-watching all the TV you don’t have time for during the work grind, and I won’t begrudge you that. But when you’re ready for a break, check out a new documentary film. There are documentaries on almost every subject imaginable, and you might learn about a topic or issue that inspires you. If anything, you will be the most informed at the end of the break.

I know this will sound unusual on this platform but you need to create time for God this holiday. Today’s twenty first century is a world where man wields an incredible amount of power and technology can help us access any piece of information we want but that does not mean that we should forget God and perceive ourselves as being invincible. There is no more productive as well as peaceful way to spend your vacation rather than in the house of god, whether it is in a church, temple or even a mosque at least once a week. Trust me, being in a conversation with God is really a peaceful experience.

Last but not least, find a quiet space to let your mind wander so you can reflect on the past and plan the future. Sometimes the best way to stay productive at year’s end is to ensure you are prepared for a successful start in the new year. When we’re deep in our work routines, it can be hard to tear ourselves away from our immediate tasks and goals. However, not removing ourselves from these things can mean we miss out on seeing interesting new connections and developing innovations. This is especially true during the busy weeks leading up to the holidays. This would be the best time to reflect on how you’ve been spending your time over the past few months and to decide whether you’d like to make changes in the upcoming year.

The writer is a Language Consultant