This is a guest post from Aaron Morris aka Sir Scrapalot, who will be sharing his tips for scrapbooking productivity here once a month!
The Toys ‘R Us Toy Book has arrived, Mariah Carey just released a new Christmas album, and the Peppermint Mocha is back at Starbucks – it’s hard to believe, but the holiday season is just around the corner. The holiday season both excites and frightens me. I love everything about the holidays, I always have. However, it always scares me to think of all of the things that need to get done, and the pressure I put on myself to make it a memorable occasion.
Each year, I promise myself that it’s going to be different, I’m really going to enjoy it. This year, I am making myself the same promise, and today I want to share with you the 6 tips I am planning to live by – planning to.
- Plan out your month – I’m not usually a big supporter of the idea of planning out a full month, but the holidays can get so crazy that it becomes a good idea to sit down and figure out just when things are going to get done.
- Give your “To Do” list a good once over – Some of the things on your to do list are probably things that can wait until the holidays are over, or at least until you have a little free time. Â Try splitting your list into three parts: Have To Do, Only if There’s Time, and After the First of the Year.
- Share the responsibilities – For me, the holidays always seem to make me think I am the male Martha Stewart, and that I should be crafting the entire holiday experience myself. Â The reality is – I’m not Martha, and I’m way too busy to do it on my own. I read a great post by Lee Cockerell, a famous leadership guru who used to work for Disney, about sharing the responsiblities of the holidays.
- Make fun part of the plan – This time of year makes it so easy to get consumed with the tasks at hand, that we forget to have fun. When you sit down and think about the month, make sure you are making time to do some fun things – a sleigh ride, caroling with friends, a ride to look at local light displays – whatever will give you some time to breathe.
- Clean a little bit each day – There is nothing worse than the terror of the “day before cleaning.” I find, if we keep up on it throughout the month, we elminate the need for that crazy day of cleaning.
- Document the holidays right now – I cannot stress this enough. Scrapbook pages, holiday albums, or any form of memory keeping just isn’t the same if you sit down to do it months later. Â Keep track of your memories now, even if you then incorporate them into your crafts later.
Remember – the holiday season isn’t about the decorations, or a clean house, or the perfect table – it’s about sharing the time with the people we love. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to keep that in mind too!
Awesome post, Aaron !!!
Thank you Aaron, I really needed to read your blog. I’m definitly going to try this for my busy Christmas Season, just to many things to do and when do I get to rest….Thanks again I will let you know how it works out with making a schedule..
I applied one of your tips before reading, after a moment to clarity about myself: got help from now through all the Holiday for cleaning the house, so I can de-clutter a little and trying to do the things I really enjoy.