What’s on Your Holiday List?
If only we could get our adorable free loaders to take on some of the to do list.
Short of teaching your dog how to bake cookies or getting your kids to hang the lights, how are you offloading some of your list?
Sure there are always things that need to be done, whether they are to make the ‘perfect’ holiday or the regular humdrum tasks that still need completing despite the added holiday pressure, or maybe even the health appointments or ‘to dos’ we put off. But what tasks aren’t erving you right now? what tasks could be automated, and what tasks maybe need to move higher up the priority list?
Why am I asking you this right now?
I am asking this in the middle of the holiday season because sometimes taking a second to reflect in the middle of your chaos, can make it easier to see than trying to plan before hand. It gives us a different perspective, especially if we are not great at time management and ‘planned’ to be able to do it all but are now realizing we can’t!
Let’s start with - “what can we offload”?
Offloading in this sense can mean 2 different things.
Taking a task off our own plate and delegating it to another ( ex. getting the dog to bake the holiday cookies)
Removing a task from our list all together
I encourage you to take a look at your to do list. Is there anything on there, that can be given to someone else? If you asked politely, would the other person be able to take this on? Here are some examples of offloading to another person:
Grocery shopping (whether you give them a list of not, is up to you!) (or may be we get them delivered and save the shopping time?)
Present wrapping - some people really like doing this, would they be willing to help wrap your gifts?
Examples of things that maybe we don’t need to do right now and can be dropped temporarily (or more permanently) from the list:
Now, let’s start asking “what tasks could be automated?”
There are some obvious answers here like online banking and pre-set bill payments, but there are some less obvious answers to this too.
Fullscript - instead of running out of your supplement (prescribed by your health care provider), you can set it up to autoship to you at the interval you should need them if they were to run out - no last minute runs to the store or going without for a week!
Automatic cat feeders - if you have a freeloader who is fed kibble, that baby can be put on a timer!
And finally, we ask “Are there things that need to go higher up the priority list?”
This can look a little different for everyone! Maybe is it time with the kids or friends. Maybe it is time spent writing the novel you keep trying to write as writing is your happy place but your day job gets in the way.
In this context, let me focus on the ‘health & wellness’ aspect of your to do list.
If you have been putting off working out, meal prepping, making those appointments or anything you feel you have needed to do for your health, despite the chaos, maybe it is time to move them up the list. Making these things a priority on your list does not minimize the importance of the rest of the list (I always say you’re not getting rid of the kids or the animals). What it does is make sure that you are able to take care of the rest of your list. Just like the saying ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’, eventually if you aren’t taking care of you, you won’t be able to take care of the rest of it. Nobody wants you to reach the point where you can’t do the things you want to do and help those you want to help. So, while above I am encouraing you to offload from your list, here I want you to consciously add the things to your list that will help you keep going. Here are some examples to give you an idea of what I am talking about:
Booking that appointment (event if it is for 1-2 months from now) so it is in the calendar and you can’t skip it
Stretching for 5 minutes as you gather your thoughts for the day (even if it is just child’s pose in your bed under the covers)
Doing the holiday activity you absolutely love - if you love baking, do it! If you love decorating, do it!, If you love corny movies, watch them! - nothing is going to help fill that cup more than slowing down and enjoying the holiday season we are all rushing around trying to do
So take that moment, breathe, and see what you can change about what you are currently doing that helps you enjoy not only this wonderful season but also the new year to come!