How to Manage Your Time During the Holidays

This time of year is ridiculously busy - every day it's nonstop going and it gets tiring! Especially when there's only 24 hours in a day and it's dark by 4 PM (insert eye roll emoji here). Just because it feels like you don't have enough time in the day doesn't mean you don't; you just need to schedule yourself out more efficiently and it'll make a huge difference. The holidays are always so much fun yet filled with such stress, and it shouldn't be like that. As most of you know, I graduated college with a B.S. this past spring and since then, blogging and VA work have been a full time gig for me. It's been a true blessing and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's extremely time consuming. Here are my most helpful tips and things I use in my daily routine to make any given day less stressful and to help manage my time better:
1. Create a to-do list tailored to every day. Sometimes a weekly or even monthly to-do list can be helpful, but I always find (especially during this time of year) that having a shorter to-do list each day makes me more efficient and honestly, more likely to get everything on it checked off. Each night before bed, I've been making a list of things that need to get done the following day (if you really want to get organized, put things in order of most important > least important). Everything from placing an online gift order to finishing a client's chore threads to writing next Tuesday's blog post. It's *all* on there, detailed as can be and ready for me the next morning. I run better having an outline of things to do each day, so having a shorter daily list that I can follow is helpful and there's nothing more satisfying then checking every single thing off of that list!

2. Give yourself breaks. If I didn't allow myself work and to-do-list-breaks throughout the day, I'd probably go a little crazy! I take a few breaks throughout the day - whether it be a lunch break, a technology break (for the sake of my eyes!) or a gift shopping/wrapping break, it's so important to give yourself some down time. I've found I'm much more productive when I break up tasks and don't try to just cram it all in to a short time span.

3. Look ahead on your calendar. I always like to know what's to come in the next week or two for me so I can plan accordingly. I'm very much a planner by nature, but it's easy to do and can be really beneficial as well even if you're not a huge organizer. For example I know that on Wednesday I'll be in NYC (nothing like sight seeing in your own city!) for the day, so I'll work to get more done over the weekend so I'm not stressing come Wednesday. Point being is if you can plan to avoid stress, avoid the stress.

4. Be realistic with your goals and commitments. It's okay to push things back until January; to focus on the holiday and family time, to not take on too much. It's normal to feel overwhelmed most *especially* during such an already busy time of year, but saying no to certain projects or commitments isn't the end of the world. What's most important is that you know your limits. Leading to the next point of:

5. No matter what you do, be present and be happy. This is my #1. Which is why I saved it for last. ;) There's nothing more important than being present and living in the moment. It's much easier said than done in most cases I'm sure, but it's a magical time of year and it only comes for a short time each year; enjoy it. There's only a handful of days and weeks left and already a count down for 2016 to end and for a whole new year and chapter in your life to begin. Make every day with your family and every moment of the magical holiday season count!!

What's your best tip for managing your time during the holidays?
XOXO