Written by: Trudy Bateman, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We’ve all been there, there’s less than a month to go until Christmas and you haven’t progressed far with your shopping, let alone sorted the kid’s Christmas jumpers and somehow, you’ve been roped into cooking dinner for a small army.
Christmas is a magical time of year, but it’s also perhaps one of the most stressful times for planning and organising yourself and your family. If a planner or organiser isn’t among your strengths, it can become an ever more daunting task. Here are my top 5 tips for planning a Christmas to enjoy and remember:
1. Write a list and take everything in bitesize chunks
There may be less than a month to go, but that’s still enough time to get organised. Write down everything you have to do and tick each thing off the list as you do it. Seeing the list gradually reduce as you progress will help to spur you on.
2. Use the strengths you do have
You’re bound to have other strengths that can help to shape your festive plans. Action will come in handy for moving things along quickly, and Creativity could help you to tackle tasks differently, finding creative ways for other family members to get involved. My daughter isn’t very organised with her friends, but she loves to wrap and bake!
Others include Humour for when things don’t go according to the plan, Optimism and Authenticity to dial up what’s important to you.
3. Get help from those that love planning
Planner may not be your strength, but perhaps you have someone close to you who loves it. Ask for their help in organising yourself to get your jobs done. Give them specific tasks or lists of their own to motivate them and be clear on the help you need, don’t leave it and hope they recognise you are struggling.
4. Make memories
Making memories isn’t just about the day itself, it’s spending time with your loved ones in the run up to it too. It’s also about having the energy to enjoy time together afterwards, rather than wanting to sleep! This doesn’t have to involve lots of planning, just being in the moment when spending time with family and friends is really all you need. Try asking those closest to you “What one thing do you need to make Christmas special,” so you aren’t focused on “everything”.
5. Have a rest
That’s right. There is a lot to get done, but Christmas is supposed to be a time to kick back, reflect and enjoy a time when most of the world is also taking a break from work. If getting things ready is becoming overwhelming, take a step back, reassess and come back to it when you’re ready. Ask others what they do or get a balanced view on whether you are being realistic.
Christmas should be a fun time of year, but if your festive planning is getting on top of you, take a moment to reflect, and ensure you’re using your strengths and less of your Learned Behaviours to help you do things with more energy.
If you don’t know what your strengths are, you can take a free Strengths Profile to find out. Your strengths benefit you all year round so, take a look at our Expert Profile to get started on your new year resolutions early. It’s packed full of resources to help you to take action, including an interactive Goals Planner and an optional Career Guide.
Trudy Bateman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Trudy Bateman is an expert in strengths and their applications. As Director of Strengths Profile, Trudy works with coaches, organizations, and universities to help them understand the strengths of their people, so they can develop them – ensuring not just a successful career, but one they love. Having led the team responsible for the implementation of successful product strategy and delivery of strengths-based assessments for over 13 years, Trudy has delivered thousands of strengths solutions through coaching, facilitating, and consulting, including the accreditation of over 3,000 Strengths Profile practitioners. She is a key speaker, author of The Strengths Profile Book, and resident expert in strengths.
