Enjoy the holidays with these time saving tips!
By: Alexandria Grant, Time Management and Goal Crushing Coach
“Alexa play 90s Christmas Carols”, said everyone woman with a glass of wine in hand. Are you in the holiday spirit yet? Or is it just me?
If you don’t want to be frustrated, hungover and exhausted for the next 3 months then you better start reading. Take notes and then take action. If you need help send me a message. Ready for action?! lets gooooo💨💨
Make a choice girl– Which holidays will you celebrate? Maybe you’ve never thought of this question before. But I’m going to ask it anyway. Are there any holidays you’d prefer not to celebrate? Decide now,which holidays you will celebrate. The major ones are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas day and New Years Day. For a full list check out this website.
I am very serious, take some time and think about why you celebrate the ones you do and which ones you prefer to NOT to celebrate.
How will you Celebrate? – Maybe you’d like to change things up. Maybe you’d like to spice up some of the holidays that you would normally celebrate in a basic way. Or perhaps you’d like reduce the spice for some of them that you would otherwise rollout the red carpet. The idea here is to get a picture of how you want the holidays to look.
Notice what I’m doing here. I am asking you to focus on what YOU want to do. The purpose is not for you to be selfish.
But rather for you to sit in silence and establish your wants and desires before the busyness of the holidays set in.
Entertainment – Who’s doing it?Will you be entertaining or will you leave it to someone else.This information will be key for you. Think about which holiday parties and gatherings you will be planning. If you decide to be a host consider the following: What’s on the menu? Will there be music?What about games? Are kids invited? Do you need to send out invitations? Who can help? Where will the gathering be?
Parties – Let’s talk about the festivities? Which parties are you normally invited to ? Are you going to all of them? Are there any new ones you could possible get an invite to? Plan and schedule in your calendar all of these parties now.
Vacation days – Do you have any? Now is the time to check those vacation and PTO hours. Do you have any unscheduled time that you will lose if you don’t use it?Have you scheduled important holidays off? Make sure you have appropriate coverage for your work/business.
Travel–Holiday travel is a beast on its own. I’m not going to encourage you to wait until the kids are older to travel. The time to live is now. Will it be hectic? Most likely. WIll there be tantrums? Very likely? But you can do alot to prepare in advance for an easy trip. Are the flights booked? What’s the baggage situation/allowance? Travel light! Carry ample snacks.
Have you checked the vaccination requirements?What about mask wearing? Have you booked the hotel? Did you check to make sure the sleeping arrangements will fit your family?Will you need a rental car? Are your passports valid?
Childcare- What’s happening with the kids over the holidays? Scrambling for last minute childcare is not sexy at all. Take some time and figure out when school closes and opens for the holidays and who will watch the kids. Are your kids old enough to stay home alone or with trusted family or friends? If this is your plan, make sure you have activities to keep the kids entertained. And what about food? Start thinking of quick breakfast, lunch and snacks you can leave with the family member or friend.
Read until the end. Yes, it’s THAT good!
Gift Shopping– Don’t do it girl. Don’t wait for the last minute long lines, delayed shipping, and shopping chaos. If you don’t already know what your family and friends want, start paying attention. What are they mentioning casually? What are your kids watching? What are some of the things they are noticing in the grocery stores and shopping centres?
Can’t remember it all? Make a note on your phone and title it ” gifts”. Everytime someone mentions something they want or you notice it write it down.
Schedule a day to take inventory of all the wrapping paper, gift boxes, bows, tape and other gift wrapping supplies you have on hand. Make a note of what you need to buy and schedule it. Or maybe you want to be fancy AKA boujee and pay for professional gift wrapping. Do you boo!
Budget– How much coins do you have for the splurge? If you’re a baller shot caller feel free to skip this section. For those of you balling on a budget, keep reading. Don’t let Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals sneak up on you! Have your list ready and waiting! Start looking at the prices now (or schedule a time in your calendar to do this). This is important!
Around the holidays ( well all the time actually) marketers use a lot of tactics to make you think you’re getting a deal.Oftentimes you aren’t really getting a deal. Sites like CamelCamelCamel can track the prices of an item for you and let you know when the prices drop.
Cleanup and Declutter –Let it GO! Out with the old and in with the new. We all know the clutter that comes after the holidays. Schedule a day to go through old things. Or better yet place 2 large boxes in your garage. Label them : trash or donate. Don’t bother to try and sell it. If you don’t have time to sort em , you definitely won’t have time to sell it it.
As you go about your daily routine drop something in one of the boxes each day. By thanksgiving you would have successfully gotten rid of a substantial amount of trash😏.
Hair/Nail appointments –No messy buns over the holidays .Start surfing the internet for the holiday look you’d like to have. Then schedule your nail and hair appointments now. Don’t be that person that’s begging your stylist to work until 11:59pm on the eve of a big holiday.
Cards–Are you mailing out any cards this year? Make a list of all the recipients. Do you have enough stamps? What are you mailing? Do you have family photos to print on the card?Where will you print them? Do you have the mailing addresses?
Ready to start planning? Comment below which holiday you are most excited to plan.
If this overwhelms you and you can use support, guidance, and someone to tell you to cut the BS, then you are in the right place. Are you ready to move from frustrated and overwhelmed to in control and accomplished?
If you are ready to join the other Goal Crushers then join me for 1 on 1 coaching ,mentorship,support, and accountability. Hurry and Sign up Spots are limited mainly because the program is that AMAZIng and because I won’t be spending the holidays on zoom calls. I’ll be sipping eggnog and brandy under a mistletoe. End the year right and start 2022 the RIGHT way. grab your space here.
Be Bold | Be Great | Be Beautiful
Alex,
Time Management and Goal Crushing Coach
P.S I’m hosting the 2nd Annual Planning and Goal Setting Workshop for 2022!!!!!! More details to come:) Save the date-Mid January 2022
