Productivity Holidays?! 6 Essential Tips to Create Your Own

By Carson King
Updated: November 12, 2021

Everyone loves holidays. Whether it’s Santa coming down the chimney, or mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, holidays spice up our lives. So . . . why not create your own? While the artform of making holidays is rare and somewhat uncommon, it’s very simple . . . so simple in fact, I often ask myself: “Why didn’t they teach us this in school?”

1. Jumpstart personal change

Daily yoga? Eating salads 24/7? Instead of turning goals into a year-long battle, why not start with one day? Specifically, a holiday? Would you rather workout on a normal Tuesday, or a holiday named “Kick-Butt-At-The-Gym-Day”? Holidays may not keep you in the gym, but they’ll certainly get you there!

2. Have fun

Holidays are an excuse to do wacky things. Any questions?

3. Increase creativity

The key to increasing creativity is by using it. Your imagination is a muscle. By creating holidays, it’s no surprise you can expect a boost in creative power! And hey, who doesn’t want more creativity? There’s a reason it’s the #1 soft skill in the 21st Century.

4. Decorate your “time space”

Time and space are connected—we know that because of Einstein. Anyways, we decorate our “space” all the time. Paintings, carpets, and plants turn bland rooms into iconic masterpieces. Likewise, holidays are little gems that turn bland, normal days into rare delicacies. They keep things spicy, and mix things up. Why wait months for Christmas, when you can turn today into something special?

5. Collaborate with friends

Thanksgiving—and holidays in general—are great excuses to see family. Granted, I may tremble in fear when Grandma tells me what a “big boy I am.” Regardless, spending time with people you care about is one of the many perks of holidays. Now, while you don’t need to invite Grandma Betsy to every holiday you create, the idea is still the same. Friends and family are an option, not a necessity.

6. Improve business

Do you know how much money Amazon made with Prime Day? A whopping 10 billion dollars. Even small businesses can hold special deals and “daily specials”, in the form of a holiday. You can apply this principle to your life, work, and school. By segmenting, organizing and enhancing your days with holidays and other meaningful content, you can meticulously and powerfully change your life.

Build-A-Holy-Day

At this point, you’re probably dying to create your own holiday. The benefits are real and hey, why not? Let this massive list of holidays get your mind flowing, and here are some additional tips-n-tricks to guide your journey: 

• Choose something you want to celebrate
• Pick a date
• Create traditions
• Decide if the holiday will be yearly, monthly, or a one-time event
• Create a holiday calendar (either on Google Calendars, a notebook, etc) 
• Share your holidays with friends/family 
• Keep a holiday journal 

Creating holidays can be a huge benefit to your life. It is so easy to get lost in the monotony of life—work, law school, studying for the bar exam, just trying to exist—that a productivity holiday can reinvigorate your life and help you focus.

There are endless reasons to celebrate life: good friends, good food, and good experiences give us purpose and another reason to wake up each day. While creating holidays won’t solve all your problems, it could save a “day” in your life . . . so why not?