3 Time Expanders to Get the Most out of 2015

Finally we made it to December. Isn’t it true so many people think of December as all things happy… Happy Holiday, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, and Happy New Year, but if you are like most professional career women you may be thinking, “I am far from happy considering time is running out.” 

If that is your feeling today and you are wondering how to get it all done before Christmas, here are some insights on how to make the most of the time you have left in 2015. 

Create a Plan 
The best way to manage time is to plan your time. Decide what you need to do and then schedule everything. Whether you use an app, a planner, or a wall calendar, you must account for what you are going to do. Insert events, shopping, decorating, phone calls, gift-wrapping, kissing and hugging, etc. If you create a plan you are more likely to reduce overwhelm. 

Prioritize 
When creating your year-end plan, get clear on all that you want to accomplish in addition to your obligations. Then, list and prioritize using the easy “A, B, C, 1, 2, 3” method. After creating your list, categorize according to importance. “A” Priorities must be done before you move to “B” and “B” must be complete before you move to “C”. Now you will have your A, B, C priorities and can number them by importance: A1, A2, A3, etc. This will help you focus on the most important tasks, one at a time, before tackling low value items. 

Delete
On this list of things you need to accomplish by the end of the year, it is likely that you have more things to do than you have time to complete. One way to manage this is to revisit low priority tasks and qualify them. Yes, you need to justify WHY you are committed to the task, project, goal, or activity. If you cannot come up with a good reason WHY you are committed to the item, let it go. You may not realize it, but you are probably carrying commitments that are no longer relevant. It’s you weighing you down, my friend.  In this instance, it’s ok to throw it out, delete it, cancel, squash it, toss it, remove it. I promise you will feel much lighter after making this quality decision. It is perfectly acceptable to just say NO. Period. Remember, NO is a complete sentence. 

So there you have it. This is how you set yourself for a better closeout to 2015. I want to hear from you in the comments below. How do you get through the last month of year? Is it manageable, overwhelming, or enjoyable? 

See you at the top!

—Dee C. Marshall, Career Coach,  @DeeCMarshall