It’s that magical time of the year again, yes I’m talking about Christmas!
The weeks prior to Christmas are always wild! Getting your work done on a normal basis is already hard enough, not to mention shopping for gifts, keeping up with the kids events, family gatherings and work parties etc. So by the time the big day comes around all, we want to sit back, relax and enjoy the day with our families.
However, that’s not always how it works out. Stress and tensions can be high as we continue to rush around to please all, even into the big day. We then vow that we will not spend the day like this again, only to have a complete groundhog day experience again next year. BUT I promise the madness is over, Christmas no longer has to be a mad scientist experiment! Here is an easy to follow step-by-step way to go about organizing the next week. Good Luck!
DEFINE– What are the most important things you need to be done? Then decide how much time you need to delegate to each task. Doing this is should help you categorize them into complex and simple tasks (even Rudolf uses this technique). Once divided schedule the complex tasks to be completed throughout the next couple of days while sprinkling the others (like a Christmas cookie) throughout those same days.
COMMUNICATE
Now that you have concentrated on the SCOPE of work that needs to be carried out during the day e.g. presents to be opened, lunch to be prepared etc. You could produce a work breakdown of those tasks (mainly focusing on the big ones) which will provide you a basis for estimating budget, dependencies and the schedule.
DELEGATE
Once you understand exactly what it’s going to take to complete everything on time you should consider getting others in your family involved! Trust us, this is an excellent way to keep Aunt Keri busy. Plus, if you want to stay at home visiting relatives, make this clear that you are depending on them to help!
DAILY PLAN your day. Break each day down into manageable areas of what needs to be done, how long the tasks will take and who will be involved. Be sure to sprinkle in the smaller tasks during downtime to reduce time delays.
ENJOY your day! Maybe the most important rule is NOT TO STRESS!
PLAN AHEAD If you’re expecting to drink, PLEASE BE SURE TO PLAN AHEAD, DO NOT DRIVE! More death occur between both the Christmas and the New Years Holidays than any other time.
Now that your almost as organized as Santa (the dudes on another level) we hope you have a great Christmas, and happy holidays!