Eva's Edict: 5 Minutes Holiday Lists

Do you have your lists prepared for the holidays yet? If not, that's OK! We'll be working on lists today.

Today's Eva's Edict: take 5 Minutes to plan your Holiday Lists.

OK, ready? We're going to List Your Lists.

First, let's focus on which Holiday that you're working on (Thanksgiving, or Winter Holiday).

What lists would be helpful to you? Let's mention a few here.

(Note: You don't have to start filling out the details or the tasks just yet. We'll do that in the next step. Right now, we're just brainstorming what lists should be included in your Holiday Planning Notebook or folder.)

Jot down which of the lists below you think you might need. If you've completed Eva's Edict from yesterday, pull out your brainstorm notes to help you.

Budget - would it be helpful to create a budget? I would guess, Yes, in these times.

Card List - who are you sending greeting cards to?

Cleaning - what areas of your home need to be cleaned or organized for the holiday? Create a timeline and break down the tasks, so you're not overwhelmed.

Gift List - who do you have to shop for? Do you plan to make gifts?

Meals - do you do a lot of cooking for the holiday? Are you bringing a dish to a party? This would be the place to create a task list, timeline, menu and shopping list.

Resources - list of stores, websites, catalogs, services, etc. that will be handy to have on hand in one place

Special Events - are you involved in coordinating any special events such as concerts, school or religious programs, volunteer, etc.?

Supply List - what holiday supplies do you need to have on hand related to presents, wrapping, greeting cards, decorations, etc.?

Travel - do you travel during the holidays, or are you expecting guests who will be staying with you from out of town?

Can you suggest some other lists that might be helpful?

Do 5 minutes today of Holiday List brainstorming, then STOP.

You can now go about business as usual with the rest of your day.

The main thing is: to get started, start doing SOMETHING rather than nothing and to begin to Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

You can always contact me for moral support and extra guidance, Toll-free (U.S.) 1-877-708-0884. I'm here to help!

Contact me or leave a Comment below after you've done today's Eva's Edict and I'll feature your story here!

Have fun planning and let me know how you made out.

Regards,
Eva, www.Sort-Things-Out.com

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Eva's Edict: 5 Minutes Holiday Planning

Today, take 5 minutes to do some Holiday planning. Yes, just 5 minutes, that's it.














Your choice of Holiday:

- Thanksgiving

- Christmas

- Hanukkah

- Kwanzaa

- Other: Your Choice


First thing to get started, (for non-techie's) grab something to write with (pen, pencil, crayon, whatever's handy)

...and something to write on (dayplanner, notebook, 3 ring binder, or recycle some paper and re-use the back of the sheet).


For techie folks: Create a new file on your computer, PDA, or other hi-tech gadget/software/website of choice. Try www.BackPackIt.com

[Or, if you have a Holiday Organizing planner or system already in place, go ahead and pull it out to update it now]

Look at your watch or set the timer: 5 minutes is all we're going to spend on this today.

Ready? OK -

5 Minutes: Brainstorm! (or do an update if you already have existing system)

Write down anything that comes to mind in having to plan for your Holiday of choice.

If this is your first time planning, don't worry about the order of things. Just WRITE, WRITE, WRITE / TYPE, TYPE, TYPE whatever pops in your head as you think about Holiday planning.

Don't worry about spelling or being neat for this first brainstorm session, write fast and put down as much information as you can think of when planning for your Holiday. Write in the margins, use arrows, cross out, doodle, write sideways, whatever floats your boat.

After 5 minutes, STOP.

Now, find a "home" to put away your Holiday Planning information. Some place that you'll easily remember and have easy access to.

Now, get on with the rest of your day.

We'll take care of sorting out what you wrote, and do some more planning in our next session.

The main thing is: to get started, start doing SOMETHING rather than nothing and to begin to Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

You can always contact me for moral support and extra guidance, Toll-free (U.S.) 1-877-708-0884. I'm here to help!

Contact me or leave a Comment below after you've done Eva's Edict: 5 Minutes Holiday Planning and I'll feature your story here!

Have fun planning and let me know how you made out.

Regards,
Eva, www.Sort-Things-Out.com

Follow me on Twitter