It’s a holiday week. Personally, holiday weeks are my favorite time of year, but professionally, they can present a real challenge. If you’re not careful, during a holiday week your pipeline might not be full. That’s a problem.

It’s important to actively manage your pipeline. One of the first things you want to do is set up accountable metrics. That means you establish a specific number of end-user appointments for every day of the week. Let’s say your end-user target is to have six new appointments for every day of the week in front of you. That means each time you conduct an appointment, you have to replace those appointments with prospecting, telemarketing and effective followup.

You need to make sure that you hold yourself accountable to replacing those end-user appointments. The big problem is when you get complacent because you have a full pipeline that is generating revenue. It’s easy to get excited about making more money. But you can’t let that distract you. You can be a person who sees money coming in and is motivated to make more of it; or you can be a person who sees money coming in and then gets distracted because he’s celebrating making money. A surge in income can become permanent if you make sure your pipeline is robust; it can be temporary if you get distracted.

When you don’t hit that goal you’ve set of end-user appointments, there’s no easy way to fix it. The only thing you can do is put in the extra hours. That’s when you really have to work for it. Start making the telemarketing calls, sending out the unsolicited emails, and making the follow up calls. Those extra hours are how you catapult your commissions to that next level.

But even when you have a full pipeline, holiday weeks present the opportunity to get distracted, make excuses and create reasons to have a weak pipeline. Just like you need to work harder when you don’t hit your goals, an approaching holiday means you have to start firing on all cylinders. In the weeks leading up to a holiday, work twice as hard to double the amount of end-user appointments.

I hope you’ll have plenty of time to connect with family and friends this holiday week. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating holidays and celebrating victories. In fact, it’s necessary. But don’t ever let it distract you and convince you that you don’t need to continue to work hard. Now get to work. Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it.