By Chelsea Babin

If you’re juggling a busy career, a busy personal life, and trying to improve your skills and learn along the way chances are you will fall behind. Certain tasks don’t get checked off on your to do lists. Some emails never get a response. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few catch-up days ready and waiting for you?

What is a Catch Up Day?

A catch up day is simply a day when you can catch up on tasks you’ve pushed aside and nothing else is scheduled. Whether you’re using it to catch up on work or to catch up on personal responsibilities, catch up days are the time you can focus on tasks that have fallen by the wayside and be free from distractions so that you can get more done in a day.

How Can I Use Catch Up Days?

Personal: When you schedule personal catch up days you can use them for personal maintenance like a trip to the dentist or doctor, for relationship maintenance like a short trip to see family or loved ones you have been neglecting, or for general life maintenance like repairing your car and finally bringing that big box of old clothes to be donated. Personal catch up days help relieve the stress you feel and keep your personal life from sinking into your work life, which improves your productivity and performance over all.

Professional: When you schedule professional catch up days you can use them for tackling a long list of tasks that you’ve been pushing up, for relationship maintenance with your clients or professional network, for skill maintenance like going to a conference or taking a class, or for a large project that is either running behind or needs to be completed before you head out on vacation. Professional catch up days help you ensure that none of your work is neglected, that you’re on top of your game, and that you can be productive when you go back to your regular work schedule.

When Should I Schedule Catch Up Days?

Personal: When you schedule personal catch up days you should make sure they’re on one of your days off. Whether you take a day from a long weekend, dedicate a Saturday or Sunday, or use a day of your PTO, personal catch up days should be scheduled well in advance so that you make sure not to make important plans or work commitments on these days. Anywhere from 2-7 personal catch up days per year is usually adequate. If you use a planner or one of many calendar apps and schedule next year’s personal catch up days now, you’ll be ahead of the game and you can space them out appropriately.

Professional: When you schedule professional catch up days you should make sure they’re not interfering with any other work and approved by your bosses and coworkers if you’re using a regular work day as a catch up day. However, you can also use Saturday, Sunday, or a long weekend as professional catch up days if you can’t find time in your regular work schedule. Typically, a blend of using regular work days and the occasional day off is ideal when scheduling professional catch up days. Anywhere from 4-15 professional catch up days per year is usually adequate. If you use a planner or one of many calendar apps and schedule next year’s professional catch up days now, you’ll be ahead of the game, be able to get them approved in advance, and you can space them out appropriately.

Falling behind, both at work and in your personal life, can be incredibly detrimental to your career. It’s distracting, makes you less productive, and can lead to crucial mistakes. Scheduling catch up days for next year right now will save you from some of that added stress and help you stay ahead of the curve both at work and in your personal life. If you want to give your career the boost it needs next year, consider adding catch up days to your schedule.