Last week, I reposted a meme that really hit a chord with me. It said:

“That sounds like a 2025 problem.”

It speaks to how much comes for us at the very end of the year, and to make it truly epic, we add the biggest holiday of the year to the season.

Friend, we’re there. It’s the last week before Christmas, and all the things are due all at once. Those end-of-year financial reports. The kids’ end-of-semester projects. The remaining items on the gift list. The food that needs to be purchased and prepped for a Christmas feast.

Somehow, the time is here and there just isn’t enough time left. So, with the clock ticking loudly, here are some ideas to get you to Christmas morning with a little less stress, a lot more perspective, and some energy remaining to enjoy the big day!

The To-Do List Shuffle
My holiday to-do list is miles and miles long. It includes everything from installing a garage heater unit in the garage in case people are wrapping gifts out there to figuring out better sound-proofing for the guest room at the top of the stairs that gets all the downstairs family room noise. There are gifts that need to be purchased on that to-do list, chipped paint in the entry way that needs to be touched up, and business thank you notes and cookies to be sent. There are end-of-year invoices due, taxes to be paid, and donations to be made. And I have a feeling your list looks very similar. To be honest, there simply isn’t time to get it all across the line. And I have a feeling your list looks very similar.

That’s why it’s time to shuffle that list.

Break your to-do list into three different categories.

  • TODAY
  • 24 to 48
  • MAYBE

TODAY is for those things that really, truly, absolutely must be accomplished today. For example, if you’re feeding everybody dinner tonight, then groceries and food prep are on the Today to-do list agenda. If you’ve got business taxes due today, then today they will be done. This category is for those things that must happen before your head hits the pillow tonight.

24 to 48 are for those things on the list that need to happen in the next day or two. Vacuuming before the in-laws arrive, sweeping through the pantry and getting rid of expired food, setting your OOO notification on email, put those things under the 24 to 48 category so that you can let go of thinking about them for today but they’re captured for tomorrow.

MAYBE is where reality has to hit the remaining number of hours on the clock. Would I love to repaint all the baseboards in my house before Christmas? Sure! Will it fit in with the TODAY and the 24 to 48 items? Um, not so much. This is where the things that would be nice but not necessary should live. That’s where the meme I saw, “That sounds like a 2025 problem,” comes in handy. It clarifies what truly needs to happen for Christmas, what needs to happen before the last day of the year, and what can roll forward into the new year.

When you effectively shuffle your to-do list into these three categories, it will bring a lot of clarity to what you should be doing today, what you should be doing tomorrow, and what needs to be paused. The shuffle should happen afresh each morning, moving things to the TODAY list and assessing what needs to be in the next two categories. You’ll likely find that you feel more clear-headed to take on what you need to do next when you organize your list this way.

The Hand-Off
I know people who are excellent at asking for help, who gather their family or their business team around them, lay out the various items needed to be completed, and delegate the list. I’ve seen it done, I’ve seen it done well, I typically fail at it. Why? Because it’s just so hard for me to ask for help.

However, when I think about the level of stress I typically carry during the Christmas season, I can’t deny that a big part of that stress is because I am trying to do everything myself. It’s a recipe for anxiety that has a lot of ingredients, everything from truly wanting to take stress off of the people around me to wanting to create some Christmas magic to wanting things done a certain way and knowing that no one will likely do it the way I will.

If that sounds a lot like you, take heart. I’ve been taking baby steps of delegating to team members in the business and kids in the home some of the tasks that are on my list. Sure, it means that some things are going to be done differently than I would have done them, but generally the results are still great.

Another way to do The Hand-Off is through having a grocery service deliver your groceries this week, to hire a neighborhood kid to walk the dog or rake the leaves, whatever is on your essential to-do list that could be handled by someone else. The reality is, there are 168 in the week before Christmas. If you factor in 56 hours of sleep at 8 hours a night, you’re down to 112 hours. If your work schedule takes up another 40 hours, you’re at 72 hours. Somewhere in there, you still need to eat some meals, get a shower, and take a breath. Realistically, where can you cut and where can you delegate, given the actual amount of time available?

Skip the Complicated
Believe me, I can make just about anything complicated. A Crock Pot family chili night, I can turn into fifteen different toppings, three different kinds of chili, and four different kinds of chips and cornbread. Holidays are no different. We’re bombarded on social media with all kinds of complicated, intricate examples of Christmas decor and gatherings and gifts.

This is the year to skip.

There’s nothing wrong with homemade gift cards, take-out pizza instead of a four-course, all-day-prep gourmet meal. Cookies don’t have to be homemade, and amazing gifts don’t have to be store-bought. Take a look at where you might just be making things more complicated than necessary and declare this the year of the Simple Christmas.

(Quick aside: keep things simple with taking care of the colds and sniffles that tend to come up this time of year. If you’re an Altrua HealthShare Member, be sure to use the telehealth feature of your membership to get care quickly, usually within just a few minutes, while skipping the doctor waiting room. If you’re not yet an Altrua HealthShare Member or have questions about your membership, contact a Member Services Representative at (888) 244-3839.)

Don’t Forget the Joy
You already know this but it bears repeating: there are no bonus points for finishing your to-do list while forgetting what the season is supposed to be all about.

“The only thing more important than your to-do list is your to-be list. The only thing more important than your to-be list is to be.”
– Alan Cohen

It doesn’t matter if the napkins got ironed and the presentation got turned in early if you’re too tired and distracted to celebrate. Play Christmas carols, loudly, while you knock things off your list. Take a minute to laugh at your favorite scene from Elf. Really look at the faces of those you love and appreciate.

A joyful heart is good medicine
Proverbs 17:22

Merry, merry Christmas!