Discussion Forum > Pre-Christmas Panic
Margaret1:
I've always found the best way to deal with something like this is to have a recurring task "Prepare for Christmas" on your main to-do list, plus a project sheet which you work off when doing that task.
The project sheet is just a list of smaller tasks which you add to as you think of them and delete as you work on them (re-entering them if necessary). This keeps everything relating to Christmas in one place and ensures that you deal with it often.
I've always found the best way to deal with something like this is to have a recurring task "Prepare for Christmas" on your main to-do list, plus a project sheet which you work off when doing that task.
The project sheet is just a list of smaller tasks which you add to as you think of them and delete as you work on them (re-entering them if necessary). This keeps everything relating to Christmas in one place and ensures that you deal with it often.
December 4, 2013 at 15:19 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Hi Mark - your advice, as ever, is excellent, and I've had just such a project sheet written since the beginning of November. I'm good at the planning part, but not so good at executing the plan. Little and often would have been the sensible way to go about it, but if a task's not jumping up to bite me, I procrastinate - self-sabotage at its worst.
Since yesterday I've made good progress on the first three tasks on the above list, and I'm more than half-way through writing my Christmas cards. I often find that in my mind I blow tasks up out of all proportion: I bought the cards in October, meaning to start writing them in early November. I had lost my Christmas card list, and thought I couldn't start the task till I'd gone through every possible place to find it. And because that was such a daunting task I put it off. The misplaced list only had names on it (the addresses are in my address-book) so there was nothing stopping me jotting down a new list, but I can be so stubbornly pedantic that I wouldn't do that. - I convinced myself that I had to find the original list. Not a day has passed since early November that I didn't think "I must find that list". Today I just sat down and made a new list, which took less than 10 minutes, and then spent a couple of hours writing some cards. It'll only take another hour or so and that will be it - finished. That way of thinking has tripped me up so many times - I just need to get out of my own way!!
Some years ago I did something similar. I'd put off sorting out my thousands of photos gathered over 20 years (before the days of digital cameras) because I imagined it would be a massively daunting task. I procrastinated for about 3 years. Then one Sunday morning I just dived in, and it only took me about 4 hours to sort them into a system I was happy with. I thought at the time, what an idiot I'd been to put it off. It hasn't stopped me from repeating the pattern countless times since then.
Anyone got a cattle prod to galvanise me into action?
Merry Christmas to everyone on the site - I love it!
Since yesterday I've made good progress on the first three tasks on the above list, and I'm more than half-way through writing my Christmas cards. I often find that in my mind I blow tasks up out of all proportion: I bought the cards in October, meaning to start writing them in early November. I had lost my Christmas card list, and thought I couldn't start the task till I'd gone through every possible place to find it. And because that was such a daunting task I put it off. The misplaced list only had names on it (the addresses are in my address-book) so there was nothing stopping me jotting down a new list, but I can be so stubbornly pedantic that I wouldn't do that. - I convinced myself that I had to find the original list. Not a day has passed since early November that I didn't think "I must find that list". Today I just sat down and made a new list, which took less than 10 minutes, and then spent a couple of hours writing some cards. It'll only take another hour or so and that will be it - finished. That way of thinking has tripped me up so many times - I just need to get out of my own way!!
Some years ago I did something similar. I'd put off sorting out my thousands of photos gathered over 20 years (before the days of digital cameras) because I imagined it would be a massively daunting task. I procrastinated for about 3 years. Then one Sunday morning I just dived in, and it only took me about 4 hours to sort them into a system I was happy with. I thought at the time, what an idiot I'd been to put it off. It hasn't stopped me from repeating the pattern countless times since then.
Anyone got a cattle prod to galvanise me into action?
Merry Christmas to everyone on the site - I love it!
December 4, 2013 at 22:01 |
Margaret1
Margaret1
Margaret, it sounds like you're making great progress. When I am in more of a crisis mode, it helps me to give each task or project a time guesstimate. I can then schedule them in. I like using SmartPad for this because if I goof off, I can see tasks I hoped to complete fall below the line for today. Even without that, you should be able to determine if there is anything you'd like to do that you just won't be able to. That will give you time to make alternate plans.
For example, if you planned to make a gift, but won't have time to finish it, save it for next year and buy something. Same with food for any parties you're attending -- buy rather than make. Trim cleaning tasks down to the bare necessities. If you have trouble discerning what's a "must," you might run your list by someone who knows you well and is a good time manager. I do this with my husband and he is quick to help me see when I'm thinking crazy. :-)
I agree with Mark that little and often is better when you're not up against the deadline. Now it's time to kick it into gear. However, consider the possibility that you may want the time to be so pressured that you'll have an excuse to drop some things you'd really rather not do.
None of this may apply to you, however! I hope you get all your important stuff done and have a wonderful trip.
For example, if you planned to make a gift, but won't have time to finish it, save it for next year and buy something. Same with food for any parties you're attending -- buy rather than make. Trim cleaning tasks down to the bare necessities. If you have trouble discerning what's a "must," you might run your list by someone who knows you well and is a good time manager. I do this with my husband and he is quick to help me see when I'm thinking crazy. :-)
I agree with Mark that little and often is better when you're not up against the deadline. Now it's time to kick it into gear. However, consider the possibility that you may want the time to be so pressured that you'll have an excuse to drop some things you'd really rather not do.
None of this may apply to you, however! I hope you get all your important stuff done and have a wonderful trip.
December 6, 2013 at 3:18 |
Melanie Wilson
Melanie Wilson
Thanks for your comments, Melanie. Very useful. I often do guesstimates, and in the middle of November I scared myself witless - I worked out how much discretionary time I had left in a 8am to 9pm day, in which to work on tasks in my list. (I'm retired, so in one way, ALL my time is discretionary, but you know what I mean).
After scheduling the following:
- routine daily tasks (cleaning, laundry, meal times)
- routine personal tasks (grooming (self, not dog!), exercise)
- routine admin tasks (e-mails, post, accounts)
- family commitments
on a typical day, I had 5 hours of discretionary time, which sounds like a lot. But that's only on days that I have no commitments/appointments (perhaps 3 days a week) and no shopping to do, It also assumes (wrongly) that I'm prepared to work right through the day and evening with no breaks, other than meal-times. On a day when I have commitments, there is perhaps only an hour's discretionary time, sometimes none.
When I made guesstimates of how long it would take to complete the tasks discussed in my first post above, I had visions of being fully occupied from 9am till 9pm every day between then and Christmas, and still not completing everything - so I quickly threw the guesstimates in the bin where they couldn't frighten me, and promptly buried my head in the sand - hence my current predicament.
It also brought into mind Mark's gem of an assertion from several years back (can't remember which book or web post), that when you look ahead in your diary and see dozens of blank pages stretching ahead of you, they are anything but blank - each of those pages is already pre-destined to contain a multitude of tasks even before you start putting in new commitments.
On your other comments, you're right about separating "musts" from "nice-to-haves", and I've got quite a good grasp of that - in fact I've dropped the last item on my list above for that very reason; and your comment about using the excuse of being pressured to avoid nasty tasks is useful - I know I've used that excuse in the past - it's not a factor in my current situation, because none of my pre-Christmas tasks are scary, but I must keep it in mind for future.
Anyway, I'm pleased to report that I'm making good progress through my hit-list and don't feel so much overwhelm. Because I don't feel so much overwhelm, I feel more in control. Because I feel more in control, I'm motivated to work my list and am making good progress - virtuous circle!
Thanks very much for your input - beats a cattle-prod any day.
After scheduling the following:
- routine daily tasks (cleaning, laundry, meal times)
- routine personal tasks (grooming (self, not dog!), exercise)
- routine admin tasks (e-mails, post, accounts)
- family commitments
on a typical day, I had 5 hours of discretionary time, which sounds like a lot. But that's only on days that I have no commitments/appointments (perhaps 3 days a week) and no shopping to do, It also assumes (wrongly) that I'm prepared to work right through the day and evening with no breaks, other than meal-times. On a day when I have commitments, there is perhaps only an hour's discretionary time, sometimes none.
When I made guesstimates of how long it would take to complete the tasks discussed in my first post above, I had visions of being fully occupied from 9am till 9pm every day between then and Christmas, and still not completing everything - so I quickly threw the guesstimates in the bin where they couldn't frighten me, and promptly buried my head in the sand - hence my current predicament.
It also brought into mind Mark's gem of an assertion from several years back (can't remember which book or web post), that when you look ahead in your diary and see dozens of blank pages stretching ahead of you, they are anything but blank - each of those pages is already pre-destined to contain a multitude of tasks even before you start putting in new commitments.
On your other comments, you're right about separating "musts" from "nice-to-haves", and I've got quite a good grasp of that - in fact I've dropped the last item on my list above for that very reason; and your comment about using the excuse of being pressured to avoid nasty tasks is useful - I know I've used that excuse in the past - it's not a factor in my current situation, because none of my pre-Christmas tasks are scary, but I must keep it in mind for future.
Anyway, I'm pleased to report that I'm making good progress through my hit-list and don't feel so much overwhelm. Because I don't feel so much overwhelm, I feel more in control. Because I feel more in control, I'm motivated to work my list and am making good progress - virtuous circle!
Thanks very much for your input - beats a cattle-prod any day.
December 8, 2013 at 21:25 |
Margaret1
Margaret1
However, using 'little and often' at this stage will just make me feel worse, because it will not stop the feeling of being overwhelmed. So I've listed my items in the following order, based on what will most quickly relieve my feeling of overwhelm:
Preparing in good time for scheduled appointments already in the diary
Plan holiday clothes and do packing as far as possible
Find new hairdresser and make appointment
Deep thinking about various decisions that need to be made before Christmas
Christmas cards
Finish Christmas shopping
Find some lost stuff I need before Christmas
Plan Christmas dinner
Make photo albums (not essential, but don't want to disappoint people I'd promised them to)
Of course, each day will already have scheduled events, routine tasks and urgencies that arise, but in my discretionary time I will work my way through the above list. Because of the time-sensitive nature of some tasks (e.g. posting Christmas cards) I won't be able to totally complete one item before moving on to the next, but I'll try to complete as much as I can, while still keeping an eye on what's below it in the list.
Another worry is that there are about half a dozen people who are expecting to meet up with me "sometime before Christmas" and that makes me anxious because it'll take away time that I should be using to do the above tasks, yet it's important to me to see them.
Wish me luck!