the holidays are here… how am i going to stay focused on my business????
Though I absolutely love this time of the year, I’m slightly anxious with the idea of staying focused and getting it all done WHILE launching several new things in my business. You see, I struggle with the perfectionist syndrome. I want a perfect business, perfectly wrapped presents, and of course… a perfectly decorated vintage Christmas tree. All perfect. All in 4 weeks time.
Have I mentioned that I’m completely imperfect?
My struggle with perfectionism is just one way that I’m imperfect. I care too much about all the things that hold little value in the grand scheme of life. I honestly have no clue why. Maybe it’s that I care too much about what others think of me or maybe I’m just trying to follow what the rest of the world does. Here is one thing that I know and have to often remind myself:
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT
I’m at the front of a BIG decision right now.
Do I work on my business ventures or do I bake some Christmas cookies and watch the Hallmark channel? Have you ever been there? Sheeesh! It’s a hard one. Rihanna is on my left shoulder saying, “Werk! Werk! Werk! Werk! Werk!” and Elsa is on my right shoulder singing, “Let it go! Let it goooo!”
I don’t care who you are… balancing life and work during the holidays is hard. Running a business during the holidays is even harder! If you’re in retail, then NOW is your crunch time. You’ve got just a few more weeks before “season” is over. Spending time with family at Christmas is special, but it can also be completely overwhelming with all the business goals, personal shopping lists, holiday parties, meal prep, house decorating, cleaning… oh! and those special moments we are all suppose to have with our loved ones. No wonder the stores start putting Christmas decor out in October. They know that it takes us two months to get it done.
Here is what I keep hearing that voice inside my head say: Done is better than perfect.
That is the saying I’ve heard a million times in the last ten years. I don’t like it one bit, but it’s true. The reality is that I couuuuld put all the gifts in bags this year. I could buy pre-made cookies and watch just one Hallmark movie this year. I could do a little of it all and feel a lot more accomplished. I think the biggest reality in all of this is that I could do a few things LESS than perfect and no one else would ever know the difference. I’m not telling you to do a crappy job, but I am saying that it doesn’t have to be perfect.
I party like a… well, not a rock star. More like a dying fish out of water.
I was the world’s worst at feeling stressed at a party. No joke. I didn’t know how to have fun when there was something “important” going on in my head (I learned later that having fun is also important). However, after several years of struggling with this party-pooper mentality… I finally determined HOW to stop the guilt! Allllll I have to do is work a little each day on my business and schedule some time to enjoy life… then the guard gets let down and my mind allows my heart to have some fun.
You’ll probably be invited to a holiday party or two this year. I’m giving you the OKAY to go and have FUN! Follow the tips below and I promise that you’ll feel more accomplished than if you skipped the party.
Here are four important work-life balance tips that will help you get focused and accomplish more this holiday season:
- Make time to have fun. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Your brain needs a break and fun fuels creativity!
- Break in moderation. It’s okay to take a break, but make sure you don’t break for too long… long breaks will cause unnecessary stress and anxiety towards whatever project you are working on. It’s easy to get sidetracked which will put your project behind schedule. Some folks call this procrastinating. Procrastinating = stress.
- Give yourself “mini” deadlines so that you make small strides in a busy season. Yessss I know that you have BIG goals, but it takes many steps to achieve any goal. Determine the steps necessary to achieve the goal and then plan to make ONE step per week. If you are able to do more than one step, then GREAT JOB! But don’t add the unnecessary pressure. You’ll be more productive – promise!
- And like I said earlier… Done really is better than perfect. Just get it done. Make it a rough draft and then perfect it later. Getting it done is the biggest step that is holding you back right now.
