{Look, I know it’s not even Halloween yet…but the busy weeks ahead as we finish out the year have been on my mind majorly this week. So just bear with me. When things are looking busy, I think it’s never too soon to start preparing for it.}
This season is filling up quickly. Just last night I was filling in our December calendar and it is already jam packed. So much so that I went ahead and put in some other things we want to do so that we don’t accidentally schedule something over them and miss out on the opportunity for certain Christmas traditions. November is looking pretty busy, too: my mom’s birthday, a wedding, and Thanksgiving. And so far, October has had its share of events, as well: dinners with family and friends, a trip out of town, a work event, and Halloween is still to come.
The truth is, I don’t particularly love busyness. I love it on paper; when I look at my calendar right now there are so many things to be excited about. But when I’m in the midst of it, it can just feel stressful.
So I’m trying to prepare myself for the busy days ahead. It’s easy to say “Well, Erin, maybe you should take some events off your calendar. You don’t have to do everything.” But the truth is, every single event on my calendar in the coming months is something I am so looking forward to and something that is important to me. But I’m thinking of a couple strategies to make the impending busy-ness easier for my introverted self.
1) Realize that we are pretty much already at capacity (especially for the month of December). If an event comes up, it has to be REALLY GOOD and REALLY IMPORTANT to make the cut to make it onto our calendar.
2) Prepare as much as I can ahead of time. I’m a big plan ahead person, so my mom and I have already discussed Thanksgiving menus and birthday dinner menus. I’m thinking about a Christmas menu (I’m hosting this year! which I asked for, but still…yikes!) and have been thinking about Christmas presents (with high hopes to get a decent amount of shopping done in November). I’ve also put certain kitchen tasks on my calendar (like when to bake the cake layers for my dad’s birthday and store them in the freezer)–it might sound crazy, but it will help me think clearer when everything seems to be going on at once.
3) Schedule nights/days to do nothing. With so many events already on my calendar, I’m filling in a few days with NOTHING. As in, a normal day/night at home, catching up on stuff around the house and having some time to ourselves.
4) Realize that this is seasonal. Yes, there may be some nights in the coming months when I want to pull my hair out. But I’m going to try my best to realize that this is seasonal. Both in that it is temporary and that it is part of the holiday season, so I’d do well to get into the spirit and enjoy it and be excited about it instead of being stressed by it!
What about you? Any strategies for dealing the busy seasons of life?
Ah, this was great to read, since I’m about to get into the planning for December…
I’m definitely big on number 2 as well. :)