holiday prioritiesWhat are your holiday priorities? We all have them.  As we get closer to the actual day, or start of the season, we need to check in to see if we are on track to get all the preparations done in time.  Holidays are a stressful time for many people.  Getting everything done can be nerve wracking, depending on our individual standards.

Hopefully you created a plan, did you? It’s always a good idea to have a plan. It can be as simple as jotting down tasks, prioritizing them, and then scheduling them in a planner. Plan the work and work the plan. By doing this early on, you can eliminate a lot of stress. I know when I have a plan, I’m more likely to feel less stress and confident that I can accomplish what I started out to do.

Individual standards are mentioned above in the context of causing stress to get everything done.  When we put so much on ourselves, and want things to be just so, that’s another thing that causes unnecessary stress.  If you have a propensity for perfectionism, give yourself a break this holiday season and adopt a ‘good enough’ attitude.  Everything does not have to be perfect to enjoy the reason for the season.

We are currently in the last week before Christmas & Hanukkah. Do you have everything or most everything done? If not, you have some holiday priorities to attend to. Some of the categories are gift buying & wrapping, menu planning, decorating and cleaning.

Your holiday priorities will be different than others depending upon where you are in your plan. There are many things you can do prior to the day of the event.  Working on tasks a little every day is the way to go.  Some tasks will have requirements that need to be done before you can work on the actual task. For example, you have to acquire a gift before you can wrap it.  Requirements fall into the realm of prioritizing.

One final thought as you work through your holiday priorities – you don’t have to do everything all by yourself. Enlist the help of family and friends, or hire someone to help.  And remember to lower your standards to give yourself a break so you can enjoy the festivities.