How Can I Better Manage Time During the Holidays?
The holidays create many good times and wonderful memories, but they also can cause stress because you never seem to have enough time. You can improve your holidays with how you manage time, including some overall realistic plans, setting daily and weekly goals, eliminating distractions, setting aside some time for yourself and rewarding yourself.
Manage Time
You can do it! All it takes is setting up a plan. We all know people who are always on top of things. You can be one of those people this holiday season.
Here’s a closer look at five key ways to manage time.
Realistic Plans
Your holiday plans might include travel, hosting a family get-together and buying gifts for your loved ones. That can seem overwhelming. You’ll feel better if you take the time before the holiday season gets underway by writing down an overall plan that includes all the major event dates and what you need to do to prepare for them.
Remember to stay realistic. You can’t make every holiday party, for example, or see every distant relative. You also need a gift-buying list that stays within your budget.
Set Little Milestones
Once you have a plan for everything you wish to do, it’s time to do a weekly and daily plan. For example, when do you need to book flights or make other travel arrangements? When do you need to pack? How soon do you need to start buying gifts to get them all wrapped and ready to deliver? A wise approach is to make a weekly list of goals, then write down one or two things to do each day. It makes something that seems overwhelming much easier to accomplish.
Get Rid of Distractions
This is good advice any time of year, but it’s particularly beneficial during the holidays. Try to eliminate any distractions that prevent you from making your daily or weekly goals. Depending on your life, this can range from the habit of watching too much TV or being around people who tend to overwhelm your schedule and make demands on your time. Whatever the case may be, considering reducing or eliminating the time spent with such distractions.
Time For You
No matter how busy you get, even during the holidays, it’s important to set aside time for yourself. As you set your goals, make sure to manage time for yourself. Reward yourself every day with something you enjoy, such as a nature walk or reading a book. It will help keep you on track and not allow you to feel as if you are “all work and no play.”
Reward Yourself
In addition to creating time for yourself each day, make sure to reward yourself, too. When you accomplish a big goal, such as completing all your gift purchases, make sure to give yourself something, too. It’s the holidays! If there’s a gift you want but don’t want to ask someone else for it, then give it to yourself. You deserve it.
Keep these issues in mind as we move into the holidays. They can help reduce stress and let you focus on what’s important: spending time with loved ones.