I have too much to do and not enough time to do it all!
As we enter the holiday season, our to-do lists can be overwhelming. You likely have more tasks in your professional and personal lives. Perhaps it is year-end, and you are pushing to complete key activities at work in addition to attending office and client holiday parties. In your personal life, you are probably shopping for gifts, planning holiday menus, decorating your house, and attending numerous holiday parties and school events. Is it possible to prioritize your to-do list to be most productive and not go crazy? Yes, it is!
In going through this exercise, remember that the overall goal is to complete what must be done to enjoy the next 31-plus days and still be rested, relaxed, and ready to enjoy what those days promise to hold for us.
First, make a list of all the tasks that you think you need to complete before the end of the year including events that are on your calendar. Include your routine activities, such as exercise, book club, etc. Then ask yourself the following questions for each item.
1. Is this a basic task that supports daily life? Think grocery shopping, meal preparation, laundry, you get the idea.
2. Is this task or event necessary for you and your family to enjoy the holiday season? This might include buying gifts for family members, decorating the house, and planning holiday get-togethers.
3. Is the activity or event supporting your emotional and physical well-being? This might include attending religious services and exercising regularly.
4. Is it something you enjoy doing? This might be things like baking cookies or attending a Christmas parade or a show.
Let me give some personal examples. I have been invited to a Christmas cookie swap hosted by a group I just joined. Attending would require me to spend a lot of time baking. I would probably enjoy it but don’t know the women that well. I have made the decision not to attend. Alternatively, I exercise about 5 times per week, and this is important for my physical and mental well-being. With limited time in the upcoming weeks, I will cut this to 3 times per week but not stop completely.
Once you have created a new list based on the assessment above, do the following assessment.
1. Is this something I can outsource? For example, order your groceries online to pick up or source some or all of your holiday menu from a restaurant.
2. Can you still complete the task but make it more manageable? This might mean scaling back your holiday decorations or donating to a local charity instead of exchanging gifts.
3. Can your partner or another family member assist you with the task? In our house, we divide the list to conquer it. What you might normally have done together, you can do separately with the same outcome.
I know personally how my quest to get it all done for the “perfect” holiday season can get in the way of enjoying the season. I plan to use these same tactics this year to overcome that habit. Good luck!