Excuses in your stocking?

For years, I’ve been putting up my five-foot silver tinsel tree that I adore. It was the perfect fit for my little apartment I was living in at the time and my cat thankfully preferred to sleep under it, rather than climb it – bonus!

I loved nothing more than to sing along to my favorite holiday tunes and decorate the tree, while my kitty explored all the boxes. And, although it’s way too small for my now-home and looks more like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, I still love putting up my little tinsel tree.

And then there’s the holiday stuff I don’t love so much… The stress of figuring out what gifts to get, negotiating all the plans, menu planning, dealing with family, traffic, hectic schedules and so on.

All this to say, the holidays can be a joyful and simultaneously overwhelming and stressful time of year. Our lives temporarily go amok with extra errands to run, tasks to do, and social functions to attend.

It’s no wonder we can fall into procrastination. It’s just too easy to say, “I’ll focus on this after the holidays,” or “I’ll start this in the New Year – I just need to get through Christmas.” Sadly, the things that get procrastinated are often quite important, if not urgent – things like big projects in your in business or self-care related, like getting in shape.

The Holiday Excuse

Rather than using the holidays as an excuse to procrastinate, what if you could use it to create extra focus? Here are two super simple strategies to help you:

1. Time block your priority project. Open your calendar and block out some time to work on your priority project. It’s as simple as that. If you have limited time, great! It means you’ll work fast and be extra focused during that time. The question to ask is, “What can I accomplish with my limited time?” Then schedule it.
2. Stick to your daily habits. With the holidays being so busy, it’s easy to fall off of your daily habits. But, it’s your daily habits that will help you get you through all the crazy chaos.
   1. Become even more diligent on planning and prioritizing your day. Take a few minutes every day to write out your top priority tasks and get those done first.
   2. Ramp-up on your self-care. Hydrate, eat healthy, exercise, drink in moderation, sleep, etc. The question to ask yourself is, “How can I take extra care of myself when things are hectic?” Then do them – your sanity will thank you.

The holidays (or any busy time of year) can only derail you from your goals if you let it be the excuse. You can choose to stay focused and take mindful breaks with these two seemingly little, but powerful strategies.