If you read my post on Monday, you know that I literally just told you to take a mental break. While I do think you should hold off on any major planning, I am not telling you to dawdle. Realistically, many of us have to be productive over the holidays. We can approach the months prior to the holidays by continually adding to a list of things to complete. We look forward to the time of having a free moment and being able to breathe. As the time approaches, we steadily begin to see the error of our ways– why do we think the holidays are the time for extra tasks? We know what we’ve done, but there is no turning back, now. Between ‘panic attack’ and ‘Netflix coma’, surely we can find realistic holiday expectations this year.
As I peruse my planner, I begin to fear that I may have done this, myself. Memories of last year fail me and my holiday expectations are already staggeringly high. To put this in perspective, I might be expecting to read 2 textbooks, 30 journal articles, and apply for 50 jobs… I know, right? And this is still not including all the other little tasks I have in the planner. As I clean up my planner (and my mental health, apparently), here are some things I’m keeping in mind that might serve you well, also.
Cleaning Up Your Holiday Expectations
- No additional post-its. I do this thing where I’ve used up all the space for a day in the planner, so I add a post-it note over it, so I can keep adding to the list. For the holiday break, I’m not allowing this to happen. Whatever can fit is fine, but I need to cool my jets.
- Account for all colors. I use a color-coding system, and my holiday expectations are not going to include only dedicating my time to one area.
- Have a ‘quitting time’. When I finish one day’s tasks, I have a tendency to get a head start on the next day’s. For the holidays, I’m going to have a set time that I call it quite. “Let what you do today be enough”.
- Stick to a rough agenda. If I don’t have a semi-structured day, I get absolutely nothing accomplished. This means getting up at a set-ish time and following the same general outline for the day.
- Plan ahead for parties/family time. I’m not going to plan to get a lot done every day– I have to take into account that my family is horribly distracting and I will never get that much done around them. Those days need to be whittled down.
- Have plenty of fun breaks. After every productive task, I’m going to do something that I actually want to do. No, not lesson planning!
- Rotate productive and bum days. Yes, I’m going to attempt to have days I allow myself to do absolutely nothing. Emphasis on ‘attempt’. We’ll see how it goes.
- Have absurd goals. I’m going to try to make it through specific TV shows, and books. I might share what I watch and read, although I’m not sure anyone would hold my taste to the same level as Oprah’s infamous list. Comment and let me know what you think!
This is what I’m going to be changing in my planner this year…. here’s to us all making it through with a healthy blood pressure!
