This time of year can challenge your patience, as it seems the streets and freeways are more crowded, shopping centers and grocery stores overflow with people, and there are longer lines to wait in.  A few words to the wise in how to remain calm and to prioritize your activities and travel:

1.  Write down and organize what you need to buy and where to get it and group your shopping together to make two or three store trips, versus a dozen.  Notice where the stores are located and go to the furthest out places and work backwards closer to home.  Avoid backtracking or time wasted by taking your store list with you, getting what you need, and leaving.  If you enjoy shopping, make sure you have scheduled the time to take it slow and easy.

2.  Consider if you can travel safely at off times whenever possible.  That may mean you have to hit the hay earlier for some sleep before leaving, or you may miss an hour or two of sleep, but you’ll also save energy not having to fight the traffic with everyone else who leaves at the usual morning or night hours.

3.  Shop online whenever possible or support your local merchants, but do it early enough so that you’ve got plenty of time to wrap gifts or send any off in the mail.  Putting this off because you think you have plenty of time later may only cause stress when you get last minute work projects or something else arises to change your plans.  (A friend who is ill just made a request for some support time, which I’m very willing to rearrange my schedule for, though it’s several hours I hadn’t planned on.  Thank goodness I shopped and wrapped early).  Don’t be caught short and add unnecessary stress.

4.  If you’re working fulltime, consider hiring a personal assistant.  One of the companies that provide this kind of assistance is Heartland Estate Staffing, but there are many you can search for online or ask friends if they’ve ever hired someone they can refer to you.  (I know at least two personal assistants myself), but you need to hire someone in your area.

5.  Just because others complain about the holidays being chaotic, doesn’t mean you have to.  Get organized, delegate, keep travel, shopping and cooking simple.  You may even find you have some actual downtime to take a brisk, winter walk and enjoy the different looks of nature at this time.  Breathe deep and give thanks.  It’ll rejuvenate you and keep you focused on the real meaning of this holiday season.

Tags: holiday priorities, holiday season balance, organizing and prioritizing, time savers

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 10:35 am and is filed under Positive Beliefs and Behaviors, Time Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.