6 Tips for Surviving the Holidays as a Snow Pusher

The holidays are upon us and depending on where you live in the U.S. or Canada, you may have a white Christmas.
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While you may enjoy listening to carols extolling the beauty of a white Christmas, snowstorms may keep you away from family over the holidays. Do you know how to survive the holidays as a snow and ice contractor?
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In this blog, you’ll learn six tips to help you and your loved ones survive the holidays.
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Every Family is Different

Since every family is different, any advice may work for you and your loved ones, or it might fall flat. Plus, you need to take a family inventory.
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For example, a younger person trying to make some extra cash during the winter to pay for college may not feel he or she is missing out. However, if you’re a parent of small children, they may not be too happy that Mommy and/or Daddy is out in the snow when Santa Claus arrives on December 25.
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Read these six tips for surviving the holidays as you balance work and life:
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1.  Plan ahead: If you live in Colorado, the Dakotas or in the Snowbelt of the Northeast, plan your holidays around the snow. For example, if the weather has snow on the forecast around Christmas week, then make sure you and your family celebrate the weekend before or on the first day you have off.
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2. Take care of yourself: Make sure you continue to eat healthily. Make sure you eat fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. Sleep when you have downtime, so you’re not running on zero energy.
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3. Communicate: Sit down with your significant other before the holidays and map out the commitments and gatherings that fall in December. What events can you miss? While you have to hit the road when it starts snowing, see how you can reschedule special gatherings for another time. It’s difficult to do if it’s a school event, but ask your significant other to tape it so you can watch the concert or Christmas party when you have some downtime.
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The holidays are around the corner. Here are some gift ideas for you in this blog post.

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4. Use Skype and Facetime: Speaking of using video to record those special moments when you’re on the road, consider using Skype or Facetime to keep up with your family while you’re busy pushing snow. Modern technology allows you to stay connected even when you can’t be there in person.
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5. Be present: It sounds so Zen to talk about being present. Yet, it’s so practical. Stay in the present when you’re with your family and put your work worries on the back burner. It’s hard to do at first, but it can be done. When you’re with your family, leave work at work.
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Slip and fall cases are big concerns to both commercial property managers as well as snow pushers. Read more about this issue on our blog.

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6. Plan something extra special: If your region is slammed with a lot of snow over the holidays, plan something special as soon as the roads are cleared, and you have the downtime. It could be as simple as building a snowman in your backyard with your family to a vacation away to a warmer part of the U.S. But put it on the calendar, so you and your family have something to look forward to while they’re missing you at home.
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Here’s an extra tip to try: Ask your co-workers what they did when they were single, had a young family and during the empty nest years. You’ll get the best advice from seasoned pros “who’ve been there, done that.”
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But the bottom line remains, find time to spend with your family and friends even if it ends up a white Christmas in your neck of the woods.
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Photo Credit:  Bobcat of the Finger Lakes