543-Planning Ahead to Savor Special Moments

There are times in our lives when big moments are on the calendar, whether it is holidays, a vacation, or even a wedding. However, they can be super stressful! Here is how I use frontload planning to create minimalism and intention during special times. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was talking to a friend about how I plan my December and she was shocked.  Not because I was doing it, I am a planner after all, but because I’ve never shared how I do it.   

 

It starts at the beginning of Q4.  That’s October 1st as I am laying out my responsibilities for the rest of the year.  I like to take a quarterly approach.  What I do is I front load Q4 into October and the first two weeks of November.  Why, you might ask … well, here it goes.  

 

I love the holidays.  I love the twinkle lights.  I love the merriment.  I love the gatherings of friends.  I love wrapping presents.  I also love order.  I love calm.  Overwhelm is my kryptonite.  I love getting gifts in the mail to friends and family that I won’t see during the holidays the first week-ish of December.  I also love ordering my holiday cards early and then addressing them and getting them in the mail early in December.  Usually I watch a Christmas movie and take my time.  But it feels so good to me to have 2 big projects checked off the list early, the mailed gifts at the post office and holiday cards in the mail.  We all know what the post office feels like leading up to Christmas, so I try to avoid that.

 

What minimalist December allows me to do, is have some calm in what is otherwise a super busy month, by saying no to almost everything that doesn’t bring me holiday cheer.  I don’t want January to roll around and December to have been a stressful blur.  Believe me, I’ve been there.  

 

Now, I still have some responsibilities, for example, this podcast.  But even this podcast brings me happiness and as much as I want the content to be good and thoughtful for you, it’s also for me.  It reminds me how I want to show up as the best version of myself.  We’re all riding the happiness train together - and some days are a little bumpy.  So this December, I have a special treat. We're shaking it up a bit, more on that later in the week, on the November 30th episode.    

 

I also use some time in December to reflect on the year and plan for next year.  My kids are still in school during the day, so I have some time and in December it’s really important to me that I am intentional about reflecting and planning for the next year. 

 

So, taking advice from Dr. Santo’s over at Yale, I’m savoring all the moments I can this month.  

 

Until next time. Remember, Kindness is Contagious. 

 

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