“I’m on a timer.”

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Late last month it was suddenly time to start nagging my fellow writing group members about content for our newsletter. Christmas was behind me but New Year’s Eve was starring me in the face. So I suggested a topic I knew would hit home: How do you keep productive during the holiday season? People responded far better than I expected, so I thought I’d give the question a whirl.

I’m the person who avoids people during the holidays. It’s what I do. I’m usually happiest solo with mini bouts of human interaction. Sometimes saying, “I have work to do,” isn’t enough to let me escape without a lot of heckling, so I developed a new strategy.

Both of my parents played sports growing up, my dad the hockey wiz and my mom the softball champ. While I never did join a team, I did inherit their athleticism and competitive streaks. We’re a weird bunch, but in our household if someone says, “I’m on a timer,” that means they’re competing against a clock and want to be left alone until the buzzer sounds. They’re aiming to win so get out of the way.

And the funny thing is we all really respect that phrase.

Now if I’m writing or sitting at my desk working on something, I say to whoever happens to be interrupting, “Sorry, I’m actually on a timer,” and they let me get on with it without a lot of questions. Sometimes you have to play to a person’s competitiveness in order to be left alone. It’s yet another reason writing in timed spurts serves me well.

Outside the house it doesn’t really work, but you can’t win them all. And for the record, I’m usually working against a timer because it aids my productivity.

Now, how do you stay productive during the holiday season?

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