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7 Time
Management Tips to Help You Survive Christmas
Last
December Sally fell ill just before Christmas day, and it ruined her
Christmas. She had been out most nights in December. Her calendar was
full of catching-up with people she hardly saw during the year, plus
family functions, work functions, her kids school functions. Sally is a
people person and loves a party. Initially it felt great being invited
to so many things and going along to the events. But she started to get
tired. She hadn't finished her Christmas shopping. And most nights were
booked. She hadn't had time to think about what she would buy her
husband or her mum and dad.
Part of
the reason Sally "crashed" was that she felt she had to spend hours
shopping looking for the presents. She felt under lots of pressure to
get the right gift. And she felt under pressure at work to complete
several projects before Christmas. Sally got sick and missed her own
work Christmas function and her extended family event -- two of the most
important events at Christmas for Sally. She was still feeling unwell on
Christmas day and so she didn't feel the same joy as she usually did
when her children opened their presents. She struggled through the day
and she slept most of boxing day.
This year
is very different for Sally as she has applied 7 time management tips
for surviving Christmas. Sally has made sure she books in her most
important events first. She has then made sure she has time to recover
in between the important events, which has meant she said no to some
functions. Sally clarified expectations at work and was able to change
the due date of several projects to January. Shopping was completely
different this year for Sally. She planned ahead and thought about the
gifts she might buy. She used the internet to research the gifts.
More
importantly Sally also thought about the true meaning of Christmas and
realised that it is not about the gift, but how much of herself is
reflected in the gift. Sally made time to speak to her kids, friends and
family about the true meaning of Christmas -- the story of Jesus being
born -- and how different this is from the commercialised party and
presents view of Christmas we can get caught up in. Sally scheduled time
for herself this December. She took time to reflect on 2008 and how she
felt about the year -- and she feels much happier about her 2008
Christmas.
Here are
the time management tips that Sally used to make sure she has a great
Christmas time in 2008.
-
See the people who mean the most to you, rather than going to
everything or the events you were invited to first Christmas can be a
time where there are lots of events on and lots of people who want to
"catch-up" before Christmas. We can fall in to the trap of saying yes
to everything or too quickly, only to find that you have not made time
for the most important people in your life. Don't let Christmas be a
time of "catch-ups" with people you only see once a year. Ask those
people to book time in January or February. Make sure you connect with
the people that mean the most to you at Christmas.
-
Use your weekly planner to have a balanced Christmas, rather
than finding you have something on every day for the last week or two
before Christmas It is easy to fall in to the trap of going to many
events before Christmas only to find that you are tired and run down
when you get to Christmas Day. Set yourself and your family some
guidelines about how much you want to have on before Christmas and
make sure you are excited and looking forward to Christmas Day.
-
Do NOT use Christmas as an artificial deadline for yourself
or others. Christmas can be used as a reason to get projects or tasks
done, but I find that most businesses do not use the
"product/outcome/report" until well into January (usually they don't
even look at it until after New Year. When you set these artificial
deadlines you create more stress and pressure leading into Christmas.
If you don't really need the project or task done before Christmas,
then set the deadline for early January.
-
Schedule recovery time -- allow time to recover from late
night events (and/or work), have alcohol free days and continue some
exercise. Managing your energy levels is extremely important at
Christmas time. Make sure you allow time to recover from those late
nights. And give yourself some free time on the weekend and/or some
early nights during the week so you can maintain high energy during
Christmas time. Keep exercising, even if it is less
often/time/intensity -- some exercise goes a long way to helping you
refresh and maintain your energy.
-
Know what gifts you want to buy BEFORE you go shopping AND
where you can get them. You will save MASSIVE amounts of time and
money when you do research before you go out to the shops. Use
catalogues, the phone and especially the internet to do your shopping
research before you go out. Then plan your trip to the mall and go to
the store to buy the gift and get out. Most people will really like
this approach. Some of you will want to explore the mall -- that's OK,
BUT still do the research, you will find the experience much more
enjoyable when you know what you need to get.
-
Spend time connecting with the real meaning of Christmas Talk
to your kids, family and friends about the birth of Jesus. Give money
or time to help charities or people in need. Meditate or pray. Give
thanks for what you have (rather than complaining about what you don't
have).
-
Make time for yourself. Take some time to STOP and reflect.
Reflect on what is happening for you in the lead up to Christmas, and
will it make you happy. Reflect on 2008. Was it a good year for you
and what will make 2009 a great year, a Personal best year.
Action
Exercise:
Schedule 2
hours to reflect on 2008. Ask yourself these questions and write the
answers in your journal.
What did
this year mean to you? How do you feel when you look back on the year?
What were you doing when you felt fantastic, inspired, happy, loved and
fulfilled?
What were you doing (or not doing) when you felt disappointed, sad,
lonely, frustrated, angry or stressed?
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