So, today I felt like that character in Ice Age – you know the one who is always chasing the acorn and being really stressed out and hyperventilatey? Scrat. That was me! And I had to text a couple of friends to arrange stuff…and they were kinda the same too…and I’m guessing that we’re not alone in trying to squeeze 3 days of work into one, plus do 300 things a day to get ready for a nice, relaxing, fun holiday season (anyone else seeing the irony here?!).
So, here are my ten top tips for surviving (and hopefully thriving!) in the next few days to Christmas:
1. Ruthlessly cull your to-do list
Yeah, it would be lovely to leave for the holidays with an empty inbox and in-tray…but is this actually possible in the time you have left? Forget the ‘that’d be nice’ stuff and focus on the stuff you genuinely need to get done. Some people call it prioritising, I call it cutting the shit. Be ruthless – cross stuff off until you are left with ONLY the stuff that genuinely needs doing. (and don’t panic if that still leaves you with more to do’s than time, I know the feeling, there are 9 more tips!)
2. Tidy your desk.
You should have seen my desk today. It looked like a paper monster had exploded. Every time I looked at it, I felt stressed out. But because I was so busy, I didn’t take the time to tidy it up. Until it was pointed out to me that it doesn’t take long. It actually took 20 minutes – but once it was done, I felt like I could breathe again. If, like me, you cannot concentrate in a paper-tip, take the time to have a tidy up – put away the stuff you’re not going to work on, and only leave the stuff you really need.
3. Stop and breathe
So, when I was being at my Scrat-ish hyperventilatey best, I realised that if my body isn’t getting enough oxygen, my brain isn’t getting enough oxygen, and that doesn’t help me focus, concentrate, think or create…all things that help if you’re busy. Also, if you’re tense, it doesn’t help you get shit done. So stop, and take a deep breath or two. Give your body and mind a rest (just for a couple of breaths), and give yourself the space to get clarity before you move onto the next thing.
4. Work on one thing at a time
At one stage today I was working on this, while working on your Christmas pressie, while preparing my dinner, while preparing for a call…funnily enough, none of them were being done well! Multi-tasking pulls your brain in 5 different directions, and is not efficient. You want to get more done? Do one thing at a time. Single tasking is the new black!
5. Get support
It took a conversation with my coach to realise that I have a perfect system for having WAY too much to do. She listened to me hysterically vent, then pointed out how I make my life harder than it needs to be (damn, I thought no one noticed!) and helped me turn it all around, including helping me set up a new system for NOT having way too much to do! Talk to a friend who will listen, then help you turn it around. Don’t try to just soldier on alone, use your support system.
6. Laugh
If you haven’t already, go watch the Scrat video…and give yourself a laugh! Laughter is a great stress reliever, and frankly, tis the season to be jolly, so in the middle of your madly busy day, take a little minute to have a laugh.
7. Do a couple of the easy ‘to-do’s
If, like me, you have a couple of things on your list that will take about 5 minutes or less, do them, get them off the list. A list of 7 items looks less stressful than a list of 10. It’ll also help you to focus, when your mind’s not distracted by the 48 things you’re trying to remember! Tick off some easy wins, and you’ll start to feel you’re getting somewhere.
8. Rename your to-do list to something less stressful
Today, I renamed mine to the ‘would like to do list’ (sounds terribly British doesn’t it?!). You could rename yours the ta-dah list, or the ‘to-schmoo’ list, or the ‘superhero’ list, or the ‘might do’ list. Anything that just takes the pressure of a little. (I was surprised at how much better I felt when I renamed it the ‘would like to do list’ – thanks coach!)
9. When you switch off, switch off
Do whatever you need to do to make sure that when you leave the office, you don’t take work home with you. For me, it is doing this and those easy to-do’s I mentioned. Once they’re done, I can look at my ‘would like to do list’ for tomorrow without hyperventilating. And once I switch off my laptop, I’ll be able to relax for the evening and come back refreshed and renewed in the morning.
10. Chill dude, no one’s going to die
If I don’t get your Christmas present finished…well, you won’t know because I haven’t told you what it is…I can just pretend it’s something else! If I didn’t write this article, I’m sure you wouldn’t have noticed (or cared too much!) because you’re far too busy rushing around like a loony! In short, none of the things on my list are life or death…I’m guessing none of the things on your list are either? So remind yourself of that and chill out – you can only do what you can do! And if you don’t get some of the items done, no one’s going to die, right?
I hope these tips help make a stressful time a little less stressful for you, and if you have a tip you’d like to share…bring it on, I still have 2 days work to squeeze into 1 day!! 😀
Oh, and if you want to get your hands on the Christmas pressie I mentioned – make sure you are signed up to my mailing list – the link’s over there on the right —>
And it’s a good pressie – well worth signing up for!
Love
Donna.x