Create Stress-Free Holidays & Special Events

Many women stress over holidays and special events, such as their children’s birthday parties or family reunions.  It can be hard to find the time it takes to get ready for these events when you are already pressed for time on a normal day! Here are some tips to help you streamline this process:

* Start planning for these events early.  If your child’s birthday is in August, it is okay to start planning the celebration in June.  That way, you’ll have plenty of time to get things done and you won’t feel rushed when the day draws near.

* When you start the planning process, start with the end date and work backwards.  If the party is on the 20th, you’ll want to send the invitations out by the 2nd, so you’ll need to buy them on the 15th of the prior month to make sure you’ll have enough time to prepare them. Use this method to plan each aspect of the party.

* Most stores are packed the week before Christmas.  Avoid this shopping rush by purchasing your gifts ahead of time.  Start shopping in September and October or avoid the stores all together and shop online.

* If you are hosting a party at your house, don’t waste time cooking all the food yourself.  Instead, make it a pot luck and cook only the main entrée; ask your guests to bring a side dish or dessert to pass.  If you are going to hold a large event, you may even want to consider having it catered. This doesn’t have to be formal; this can be as simple as getting a large party sub and a few salads from the deli.

* Many times, people will have several small celebrations for one event.  For example, a mom-to-be may have a baby shower for her side of the family, another one for her husband’s side of the family, and a third one for her friends.  If possible, hold one large shower and invite everyone. This will save you lots of time.

* If you work a lot of hours and simply do not have time to plan a party, consider hiring an event planner.  They specialize in this and can take the work off your hands, freeing you up to focus on other things.

* If you don’t want to worry about cleaning up after your guests, rent a space for your party, such as a conference room in a restaurant or an outdoor area in a park. If you want to hold the party in your home, you can always schedule a maid service to come over the day after the party and take care of the clean-up.

Keeping Track of Your Schedule

The first thing to remember when deciding on a scheduling technique is that you need to find one that will fit not only your needs but also your personality.  Trying to adapt to someone else’ techniques may just make you avoid the schedule all together and that’s not the goal.

Some people prefer electronic planners such as a PDA or via their email program such as Outlook or Google Calendar while others may be more comfortable with paper planners, which are available in daily, weekly or monthly formats and in a variety of sizes.  Another option though not portable, is a large dry-erase board or bulletin board hung in your home or office.

Make sure the size of your planner will fit your lifestyle.  If you are going to carry the planner with you a lot, find one that will fit inside your purse or bag comfortably or briefcase.  If it doesn’t fit well, or is very heavy, it is going to be more of a hassle to carry it with you.

On the other hand, if you are going to keep the planner on your desk, consider opting for a large 8 ½” by 11” size.  This will provide you with plenty of room to write notes on.  An additional plus, it that this size is often divided into fifteen minute increments, which can serve as a very helpful tool.

If you decide on a paper planner,you can give yourself a visual image by color coding your tasks with highlighters.  For instance, assign the color blue to all of your personal and family obligations, such as doctor’s appointments, soccer games, family reunions, etc. and your business activities another color.  This way you’ll be able to see what you should be doing at a quick glance.

Choose various color for various activities or part of your life.  Choose categories that suit your needs best. If you have a day job and a home business, you may want to assign a specific color to each.

Once you’ve decided on your color and corresponding categories begin highlighting activities in your planner.  If one particular color seems to be dominating your week, you may want to consider re-evaluating how your time is being spent.

With the improvement in technology, digital planners can perform similar highlighting functions.  Smartphones combine a cell phone, planner, and even an Mp3 player all in one little package.

If you like the idea of keeping track of your schedule electronically, but don’t want to spend a lot of money on a PDA or smartphone, use a program such as Outlook or Google Calendar.  One of the features of Google Calendar is that you can share your calendar with other users.  This can be helpful if you plan a lot of events (such as pot-luck dinners, game nights, etc) and want to let all of your family and friends know about them easily.

The dry-erase board/bulletin board option is great for those that are very visual or those who like to have a lot of space to make notes.  One board can be hung in the kitchen as a reminder to all to keep track of everyone’s appointments, games, and so forth.

Another board can be kept in your home office to keep track of your work, bill payment schedules, and the like.  If you work on multiple projects, you may want to have several boards, so you can easily see what needs to be done for each project.

Create Stress-Free Holidays

Many women stress over holidays and special events, such as their children’s birthday parties or family reunions.  It can be hard to find the time it takes to get ready for these events when you are already pressed for time on a normal day! Here are some tips to help you streamline this process:

* Start planning for these events early.  If your child’s birthday is in August, it is okay to start planning the celebration in June.  That way, you’ll have plenty of time to get things done and you won’t feel rushed when the day draws near.

* When you start the planning process, start with the end date and work backwards.  If the party is on the 20th, you’ll want to send the invitations out by the 2nd, so you’ll need to buy them on the 15th of the prior month to make sure you’ll have enough time to prepare them. Use this method to plan each aspect of the party.

* Most stores are packed the week before Christmas.  Avoid this shopping rush by purchasing your gifts ahead of time.  Start shopping in September and October or avoid the stores all together and shop online.

* If you are hosting a party at your house, don’t waste time cooking all the food yourself.  Instead, make it a pot luck and cook only the main entrée; ask your guests to bring a side dish or dessert to pass.  If you are going to hold a large event, you may even want to consider having it catered. This doesn’t have to be formal; this can be as simple as getting a large party sub and a few salads from the deli.

* Many times, people will have several small celebrations for one event.  For example, a mom-to-be may have a baby shower for her side of the family, another one for her husband’s side of the family, and a third one for her friends.  If possible, hold one large shower and invite everyone. This will save you lots of time.

* If you work a lot of hours and simply do not have time to plan a party, consider hiring an event planner.  They specialize in this and can take the work off your hands, freeing you up to focus on other things.

* If you don’t want to worry about cleaning up after your guests, rent a space for your party, such as a conference room in a restaurant or an outdoor area in a park. If you want to hold the party in your home, you can always schedule a maid service to come over the day after the party and take care of the clean-up.