Christmas is fast approaching. A time of excitement for most, it can invoke a feeling of stress. The expectations we place on ourselves to have the 'perfect' Christmas, whether that is doing the cooking or trying to keep everyone happy. Whether we celebrate Christmas or not, it is the one day of the year everything pretty much grinds to a halt and forces us to slow down and gives us the opportunity to spend time with loved ones.

The closer we get to C-Day, the more we tend to dash around trying to finish our tasks before the holidays start. No-one wants to end up spending Christmas morning stressing over unfinished business, whether professional or personal. The thing is, there will always be one more thing to do. Sometimes yo have to draw a line in the sand and say 'This is where I draw the line" and mean it.

If you've ever found yourself doing things “just in case” when you should be enjoying the moment or have insisted on quickly finishing “just that one thing”, that’s never just one thing, then this post is for you.

Below are some simple tips to help you organise your time and make your dream Christmas a reality.

Follow the 80/20 rule

You may have heard of the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle. It’s the rule that states 80% of the output in a system is the result of 20% of the input. For example, 80% of your business sales will come from 20% of your clients of 80% of disagreements with our partner or children will be due to 20% of the things that annoy us. It really does work with everything.

You can apply it to both your professional and personal life. As you’re pressed for time you need to ensure that 80% of your efforts is put into 20% of your tasks that get you the biggest results. For example if you have Christmas shopping outstanding and work deadlines looming, rather than spend time visiting the shops, a better solution might be to spend some time listing everything you still need and either purchasing online or delegating.

You may feel that writing lists and shopping from multiple shops online will be time intensive or more expensive because of delivery fees but ultimately you save time on public transport or in the car and can use the journey time saved to get something else cleared off your to-do list.

Prioritise Your tasks

Get your most important tasks finished first. Start by making a list of what can’t wait. Think projects with immovable deadlines. Once you have your list, keep it somewhere you can see it and get to work on what needs to be completed. Each task you cross off is one step closer to your ideal Christmas.

As time is limited you want to make sure that you focus on tasks that can’t wait until New Year. Christmas dinner might not be one of those things so making dinner a priority makes sense, as does getting presents in making time to plan the day. If you don't have time to sort Christmas cards and can't delegate, why not explain to friends and family or tell them you'll donate the money you would have spent to charity. Most if not all will understand.

Deciding what NOT to do is just as important as deciding what to do. Take a stand and cut out the tasks that can wait until the new year. Your focus is to finish the things that absolutely must get done before you take your foot off the pedal. Often the pressure to get things done comes from ourselves. Most people will understand if things have to be postponed.

Delegate

Sometimes we have to accept that there are only 24 hours in a day and not all of them can be used to get things done. Sleep, family, eating etc are all things that need to be incorporated somewhere in our day. If you're unable to get a task done by yourself for whatever reason, ask for help. Again, most people are happy to help and it means you can focus on the things that are most important and have the headspace to deal with them.

The chances are you’ve probable given yourself too much to do. Now is the perfect time to pass some of your tasks to somebody else. You can delegate them to family and friends, ask colleagues to help if you're employed, hire a freelancer if you're self-employed, or give it to a trusted friend who has the right skillset.

This doesn't mean pass off your most important tasks. You should be doing those. Instead, pass on tasks that are not as important or big as the others but equally as pressing.

If you follow these simple tactics, you can cut through your Christmas Stress with ease. You’ll be able to relax this Christmas and enjoy a wonderful time with your loved ones.

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