Time Management Tips For Christmas
Author: Loreena Walsh Date Posted:6 December 2019
Feel Like Christmas Is Running Away From You - Let’s Help You Get back On Track
‘Where has the time gone?’ ‘I am sure I had more time!’ Familiar statements at this time of year. We are now in December, the final leg of preparation for the holidays has begun. Are you organised or panicking? If you are organised, you don’t need much help from us but for those that are panicking let’s try and find some solutions to make it all a lot less stressful and our suggestion is to take a look at your time management.
Here’s Why You Need Time Management
To achieve goals, by practising good time management, you not only realise your goals on time but incur a lot less stress. It creates more opportunities for doing other things, focusing on what matters, not getting caught in trivial things waiting precious time.
You can actually create time for the things you enjoy, like a Christmas party!
Lessens stress - we all know Christmas is up there as one the major stressors, which in turn can lead to all sorts of negativity, spoiling the essence of Christmas for you and those around you.
Time management does not solely belong in the domain of corporate business; it is an essential tool there to improve your work standards and career opportunities. But it is also a great skill to have in your personal life. By time management, we are not talking about compulsively dairying and planning every aspect of your day, but acknowledging that a general plan makes the day go a lot smoother, especially at holiday time.
How To Implement Time Management In Your Life
Schedule or Plan
Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of your day to gain a lot more time through your day. Once you have your plan, write it down, put into Alexa or Siri, on the fridge, anywhere but just in your head! The unexpected happens, but you will be pleasantly pleased to find you can accommodate them a lot better when you know how your day is going - what you could move around or do another day.
Prioritise The SMART Way
This goes hand-in-hand with scheduling. In your five-minute review of your day, you will know what the most important things that need to be accomplished are. Be that decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, ordering the best wine hampers for wine connoisseur family members or meeting with new clients. Taking time to review them puts you in charge and gives you a feeling of being in control - something that can be sadly lacking at this time of year.
To prioritise, you need to determine which are the most important to accomplish that day, so cookies for your kid’s school party tomorrow would be a priority. You can also break this down further by using SMART, that is, make your goals, Specific, Manageable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Try using this system; it works as well for a business day or one at home.
- Identify as important and urgent: Do these tasks right away.
- Next the Important but not urgent: Decide when to do these tasks.
- Followed by urgent but not important: Delegate these tasks if possible - colleagues, kids or hubby!
- Finally not urgent and not important: Set these aside to do later.
Setting a time limit on any of your tasks and or goals helps you to be more focussed and efficient. In the planning, it also makes you think of any potential hiccups to your plans and anticipate how to deal with them.
Letting family or colleagues know what you are up to, where you need their assistance and where you don’t. Remember they cannot mind read, you need to communicate clearly and succinctly, and then you can delegate.
Delegation
An excellent management tool, and one you need to embrace as at Christmas time the increased amount of things to be done can be horrendous. Get others involved in helping where ever you can. No need to prove you are superman or superwoman, it’s more important actually to get things done.
Don’t Procrastinate
That is, time is finite this month, so don’t put off what you can do, get it done and move on. Life is never certain, so distractions will come along. Be as prepared as you can help you deal with both good and bad distractions.
Remember also to schedule in some time for yourself, downtime. A cup of coffee, feet up time, do some stress management technique like deep breathing to keep you as relaxed as possible. Social media can be a bad distraction, maybe turn it off for the busiest part of your day, or schedule time to look at it, you can easily lose you time as I am sure you are well aware. Same goes for continually checking emails, or replying to friends texts. Close your notification sounds, until a time you designate to view them.
Time management is a skill, it can be learnt like any other, but it is definitely worth the effort. Not only will you appreciate it but you family, friends and colleagues will.
One Last Thing We Can help You Save Time With - Christmas Gifts Corporate & Non-Corporate
Buying Christmas gifts is one job that always seems to become the last minute. We can help with that as it is not too late to go online and order one of the great hampers that we deliver free all over Australia.
We specialise in the extra special gourmet hampers that deliver surprise and pleasure to your recipients. We have hampers that pamper both ladies and men, hampers with sparkling bubbly from the cellars of Moët Candon. Plus we have hampers that include nibbles, chocolates and goodies from Australia artisans and round the world notable gourmet producers.
We have alcohol free hampers and speciality chocolate hampers, alongside beer and cider hampers and we have the best wine hampers, including award-winning Margaret River wines like the Cape Mentelle Shiraz and Christmas Cake Hamper. Let us also not forget the whiskey hampers designed to satisfy every whiskey lovers palate.
For those of your managing corporate Christmas gifting, we have several ways in which we can help. From beautiful coloured satin ribbons carrying your logo to specially designed gift cards, even personalises gifts to add to whatever hamper you choose and all in time to be delivered free for Christmas.
