Today is December 1st and as I was driving home from a great client appointment, I started to feel a little panicky about everything I still need to do for Christmas. I have 23 days until Christmas Eve and it feels like things snuck up and pinched me in the bottom. Is that a Christmas goose? Now I know good and well when Christmas is. Funny, I knew one year ago when Christmas would be-I’m kind of clairvoyant like that actually. But here I am, feeling like time is running out.
When I have a lot to do, it all starts to jumble around in my brain and that makes me feel like I’m scattered and I don’t know where to start or what to do first, second… Fortunately, I am a planner and I’ve known myself long enough to know exactly what the recipe for success is. This is a really complicated process, so I hope you’re reading closely and paying attention. I get out a piece of paper and a pen and I make a list. Okay, okay, it’s not complicated. But the key for me is to have paper in front of me vs. using any type of electronic list. I don’t use Evernote for this list, I don’t use a Word document for this list and I don’t use my Notes app. Writing everything out on a piece of paper purges my brain and it helps me map out my ‘to do’s’ and visualize them better. Somehow for a brain dump, paper and pen works much better for me than clicky clicky on a device.
Once I break things down on paper, suddenly I have more clarity, I feel more focused and I don’t feel so overwhelmed. Eureka! And my brain sighs with relief that it doesn’t have to hold onto all this information and it doesn’t have to keep it in the good ‘ol memory bank. There’s already enough rolling around in there. Such as, “Why did I just walk into this room?” along with, “Where did I set my phone down?”
So, I’m off to pull out a piece of scratch paper to list who I still need to shop for, the stores I need to stop at and what I need to pick up while I’m there so I don’t roam around the store wondering what I’m doing there.
Did I mention I already have all of my Christmas cards done for my clients and they are ready to drop in the mail? So, I do have that going for me.
Paper-check. Pen-check. Okay, I’m out!
