Born from a true water cooler/ break room conversation about how our different departments are mitigating holiday stress—at work and at home—we bring you Pepperjam’s first-ever 12 Tips for Peak. We hope you can take away a little something that makes this time of year just a wee bit jollier for you…enjoy!
Tara Siegel, Senior Director, Marketing
In my house we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, so my tip is to not forget about those 8 crazy nights, this year Hanukkah is early, December 12-20th. It isn’t too late for a specific offer with guaranteed shipping in time for the first night of Hanukkah (bonus tip- spelling in Chanukah is totally fine too!)
Bo Royal, Director Paid Search
Flee the country (or at least the Northeast). My family and I will be having our first Christmas ever away from home this year: we're trading in cold, cloudy PA skies for warm, sunny Jamaican beaches with the goal of relaxing, reflecting on 2017, and drinking Red Stripes. Ya' mon!
Steve Weber, Director, SEO
If you’re running any website promotions that require seasonal images or banners, remember to compress their file size! One of the easiest ways to improve your conversion rate is to allow your visitors to load your pages faster. Check out https://compressor.io/. It is a free online image compression tool that you can use to compress images without degrading their visual quality.
On a personal note, I think of music like a time capsule. Whenever I am feeling stressed or rushed, I like to play a record that reminds me of a less stressful or more fun time. It’s hard to be stressed when some of your favorite sounds are playing back at you.
Angie Williams, Senior Director, Product Success
As we near the end of the year, it’s easy to get caught up in the anxiety of looming deadlines, the swirling holiday preparations, and the unsolicited opinions that seem to come at you from all angles. In these moments, remember to stay present. Pausing to reconnect to your goals, appreciate the good and the bad (and maybe even find the humor among the madness) will keep you focused on delivering what you said you would. After all, as marketers, we are creative, multitasking, problem solvers and this moment is exactly what we are built for.
Blake Hawkins, Senior Director, Mid-Market Sales
When the burrito shop next to your office has two locations and the other is deep in the heart of Mexico, you destress with the most amazing breakfast burrito that exists. And then you pause just brief enough for an office burrito selfie. And you also happen to make a chipmunk face. And then maybe take a 15 minute siesta.
Caitlin Braun, Director, Client Marketing
Make your list and check it twice! I make lists for everything in life, including a list of those that I need to shop for during the holiday season so I don’t forget anyone. Make the list accessible from your phone (I use the Google sheets app) so you can update it on the go and add to it when you think of “the perfect gift” for that special someone!
Jill Crawford, Senior Director, Affiliate Services
It’s fun to reflect on past holidays. And quite frankly, we have to, as our clients want YoY reports and feedback. But sometimes it is best to just start fresh.
My tip for the Holidays is this: treat each holiday like a snowflake.
There are no ways to recreate past years and there is no way to perfectly predict future trends. Offers change, competitors rise, industries shift. Just sit tight, enjoy the moment and it might be the best snowflake yet.
Regina Corchado, HR Manager
My house is CRAZY with 3 kids and family from out of town who stay with us over the holidays! My tip is to make sure you don’t try to do everything yourself. Order takeout for dinner, give your spouse a honey-do list and don’t be afraid to ask grandma to watch the kids. Buy cookies and put them on a tray as if they are homemade. Rather than wasting time racking your brain for those hard to buy people, buy event tickets online! Everyone loves concerts, movies and live shows. I always go through ebates.com and search tickets to find the best deals.
Daina Cali, Office Manager
As an extroverted introvert and “office mom” to a team of 100+ millennials, the best way for me to recharge is to go off the grid and disconnect from everyone by removing myself from email, social media, friends and family (sorry guys). Flying solo at the movies is one of my favorite ways to zen-out, especially during the holidays! It gives me a chance to put myself on DND, momentarily escape into a new world and return to normalcy refreshed and ready for a new day or a new proverbial fire to put out. {My current rec: Disney / Pixar’s Coco!}
Audrey Mill, Partner Manager
My tip is to find a way to step away from the holiday madness to be with friends. My crew sets aside an entire day to bake our holiday cookies together while enjoying some much needed cocktails! It’s a great way to get a variety of fresh baked cookies for the season while enjoying laughs and creating memories. We finish the day with a cookie exchange and an ornament swap.
Jordan Semar, Senior Designer
Being a designer for a fast-paced performance marketing company, it can sometimes be a little too easy to find yourself stuck in a creative rut from the required speed of your daily tasks and this feeling is only amplified during peak season. When you lose focus on the foundations of design and creativity, your work will tend to suffer and make you feel like you aren’t designing to your best ability. Rather than getting frustrated, the way that I combat this mental roadblock is through forcing myself to get up and moving, giving my brain a break and my eyes a fresh new look at the designs that I’m working on.
During the work day, that can be as easy as taking a little walk to grab water or heading to the gym to give yourself a fresh perspective on what you’re designing. When I have time on the weekends, I love going out to be in nature and listening to music. Whether it be golf, hiking, snowboarding or anything in between, separating myself from the design process actually helps me become a stronger designer when I come back to sitting at a computer. You’d also be surprised of the inspiration you can find when you just stop to look at the world around you and you can incorporate those design cues into your work. Don’t underestimate the power of nature, music, and most importantly activities to give yourself a mental vacation.
Chrissy Kammerer, Marketing Specialist
The holidays are my absolute favorite time of the year. Typically, my inner-elf needs no coaxing to come alive, but my instant stress reliever / motivator lately (read: since November 4th) has been listening to my favorite Spotify holiday music station. And while I’ll listen to all things holiday, I’m totally partial to the feeling of pure zen that the piano classics deliver. When it comes to maintaining productivity standards when it feels like many people are beginning to check out until after the new year, as a writer, the only thing that works for me is physically stepping away from the work and intentionally creating some distance. I try to distract myself from that work for at least 20 minutes (or preferably a little longer) and then I can return with fresh eyes and a fresher perspective.
