Start with the smallest bill.

Plan to pay off the bill that cost the least amount of money.  This way that is one less bill you will have to think about.  The other bills you will want to pay a little above the minimum until the small bill is paid off.  Once, the bill is gone, then start on the next one while you pay a little above the minimum on the others.  Repeat the cycle.

Plan to not give to the ingrates the next holiday season.

Keep in mind that everything that was said by relatives and friends that made you feel weird, upset or even angry on the inside was a good thing, because this way you know that your hard-earned cash would be better left spent on someone or something else.  Consider a non-profit organization next year, a family in need, or simply do something anonymous for someone you forgot this past season.  Why bother to shop around for people who are already blessed with everything only for them to say, “Thanks but I would have preferred…”  You aren’t Santa Claus or God, you are a human being who works everyday and may have a family that you have to keep a roof over their heads, so why play roles you know you can’t fulfill just so people won’t talk about you only for them to talk about you anyway?

Decorations.

Sometimes we simply overdo the holiday decor.  We think that by transforming our homes from top to bottom that we are “in the spirit.”  We quickly run out of the spirit when it’s time to take all that stuff down, organize it, and pack it up.  If it burdens you to decorate and take everything down, consider putting up less next year.  One way to be sure that is what you do next holiday season is by giving and selling some of your Christmas decor now.   

Extra weight.

So you may have been one of the ones who had to taste everything this holiday season.  Now you feel guilty, no need to feel this way.  Begin a simple program for yourself by going through your kitchen and getting rid of everything you know is high in calories and fat.  From sodas to candies, clean your kitchen out and gradually you will find the guilt feelings will go away.  Plan to walk rather than ride everywhere.  Park your car in parking spots further away from the store.  Take an after dinner walk.  Talk with a friend about walking together after lunch.  Taking little steps will eventually lead to bigger steps as long as you are willing and have surrounded yourself with notes, pictures and a supportive group of people that will keep you motivated and hold you accountable.

Toys.

Are you a parent that spoiled your children rotten this past holiday season?  If so, then you know what you will need to do, recycle toys.  Basically, you will take some of the older toys and put them away while leaving the new toys out.  Then maybe in a week or two, take the new toys and pack them away while you bring out the older toys.  This way your child’s room will never be cluttered with all his or her toys.  Also, it will be like Xmas time all over again when your son or daughter sees his or her favorites again.

Faith.

You may have regrets that you didn’t talk to anyone about the “Christ” in Christmas.  Well, you don’t have to ponder about what you could have, should have said.  You can always get a thank you card and send it to your past guests and include a message.  You can plan for next holiday season to present information that explains what Christmas really means.  You could also leave out the presents on that day and share them on another day so that the message of Christ is not overshadowed by the superficial.

Travel.

Sometimes family put entirely too much pressure to meet on December 25th.  They expect one another to be like a postman, come rain or shine, sleet or hail, freezing below, icy, it doesn’t matter the weather conditions.  Well, consider how many people lost their lives trying to get to Grandma’s house?  Whether someone in your family pressured you or you were doing the pressuring, think about planning your holiday event based on weather conditions not tradition.  Besides, you won’t have much of a holiday celebration if people are sick, sleepy or angry because of cancelled flights, bad weather conditions, cranky babies and toddlers, or selfish family members.

Work.

Some employees were able to get off of work, while others weren’t.  Some showed up at holiday parties drunk.  Others avoided them altogether.  Whatever the situation at work, keep in mind that if you are a good employee with a great track record, you can always plan ahead to be off on certain days.  Plan your holiday event around your job.  If you were one of the drunk ones, simply apologize to everyone you may have insulted.  Send each one a greeting card with a restaurant gift card.  Don’t start the new year off wrong hoping that negative feelings will just disappear.  Make wrongs right.

Now that Christmas is gone until next year, remember that you can avoid your after Christmas blues with proper planning.  Keep these points in mind: remember to avoid impulse spending, start putting money away now for next Christmas, buy items on sale and pack them away, put in for your vacation early, avoid attending family events when you know the weather will be bad, don’t overwhelm the children with stuff, create a weight loss plan, and most of all, if you are a believer in Christ, do share your faith next time around.

“He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out the plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life.”

Victor Hugo (1802 ~ 1885)

If I asked you what is most lacking in your days, would your answer be time? Would you say that there just don’t seem to be enough time in the day or in any week, to do the things you want to or should do? But time hasn’t decreased, has it? It has remained constant – the same twenty-four hours in every day. Man has learnt to harness and manage many things over the centuries. Yet, we have not mastered the management of time.

Is it really that difficult? You can learn to manage your time more efficiently by learning how to manage the tasks that make up our days. And therein is the secret. Actually, it is not a secret at all. So today, we’ll look at tried and tested ways to use our God-given time.

Chances are that in any one day, there will be routine tasks that you do. The left over time is usually filled by occasional duties like weekly or monthly commitments. The drudgery of some of these daily chores often renders us robotic in our movements and we just go through them in a daze without a plan, a thought or an eye to efficiency. We just want to get them done. However, those unavoidable routine tasks can be managed in a way to make them less burdensome and time-consuming.

Schedule Time Limits

Schedule routine household and personal tasks just as you would work-related ones. Use a notebook, diary or appointment book. This practice will block the amount of time you devote to a particular activity. When the time is up for each task simply stop and move on to the next.

For this to work though, you must have a fairly accurate idea of how long tasks will take to complete.

Stay Organized

The whole system will go haywire if every activity is preceded by half an hour spent hunting down the necessary materials and tools. That is a waste of time.

Ideally, tools and supplies for a particular task should be stored close to the activity centre. Most of us attest to less-than-adequate storage in our homes, but that’s no excuse for having things scattered, cluttered and missing when we need them.

Use whatever storage you have available or improvise. It is not uncommon for people to store supplies and tools in the most unlikely places in their homes – under the kitchen sink, in the garage, on upper shelves in closets, in cardboard boxes and baskets stacked as side table or coffee table and in bags hung on a door or in containers under the bed.

Whatever method you choose, keep your stuff organized and easily accessible.

Delegate

It’s a common thing to see one person undertaking all the household tasks while the rest of the household relaxes. Once this practice becomes ingrained it is very difficult if not impossible to reverse.

“Every man jack,” (my father’s expression), should pitch in and help. And it is up to the head of the home to inculcate that policy early or he or she might come across as a tyrant later on.

Initially, delegate only those tasks that you believe someone else can handle to your satisfaction. It makes no sense passing off a chore that you will have to return and complete yourself. Once others in the household have proven their ability and more importantly their willingness to complete tasks you assign to them, you could delegate additional or more difficult ones.

Multitask

Despite its pitfalls, I think multitasking is here to stay. To minimize the frustrations that come with multitasking, only multitask as far as it is comfortable to do so. Maybe we should aim to “double-task” instead. Are you one of those people who insist that you can concentrate on only one thing at a time? Try combining a task that requires motor skills with one that necessitates mental skills.

For example, fold laundry while talking on the telephone. Use an ear-piece attached to your cell phone so that your hands are free to load the washer, wash dishes or sweep the floor. Pay all you bills on the same day, use a one-stop shop bill payment service, or set up a Standing Order with your bank.

When waiting for your children while they take lessons, practice and play sports, or attend rehearsals, instead of fretting, catch up on calls to your parents or friends, write letters, or lose yourself in a portable hobby like, crochet, writing, drawing etc.

Do Things Right the First Time

A major time-eater and time-waster is having to re-do tasks that you didn’t take the time to do right in the first place. This usually happens when you have too much on your plate, you fear saying “No” or you did not allocate sufficient time for efficiency.

If you tend to move slowly, and nothing is wrong with that, it might be best to focus your attention on one task, how ever long it takes. Do it well and completely.

Learning to manage your time is not a done deal but an ongoing process of learning to balance your responsibilities. If you start today, you can get a good handle on maximizing the twenty-four hours in your day.