STUFF I’M FIGURING OUT
Work deadlines. Parties. Party outfits. Presents. Christmas. Travel. Family. School holidays. People you promised you'd see. Things you need to book. Things you forgot to book.
December has a habit of arriving all at once. Except, of course, most of it didn't arrive all at once. December started before December.
I've always been a planner. Years spent managing complicated diaries, projects, events and competing priorities have probably made me even more so.
But for me, planning isn't about trying to control everything. It's about looking ahead far enough to see what's coming, and doing something useful with that information.
Look at the whole picture
I like calendar mapping. Without getting too technical, it's about putting everything into one picture — work, life, travel, health, family, commitments and the things you want to make time for.
Not just to see where your time goes, but to spot competing priorities, pinch points, opportunities and the things that need to happen before other things can happen.
Because the date isn't always the date.
A December event might need a decision in October. A holiday next summer might need something sorting this winter. An important work commitment may have consequences for everything around it.
Once you can see the whole picture, you can start asking better questions.
What's coming? What's missing? Where are the pinch points? What needs more time than we're giving it? What could be dealt with earlier? What doesn't need to happen at all?
That's where a little KISSology comes in. Get curious. Ask questions. Join the dots. Find the simplest way forward.
Create a system around you
Once you can see what's coming, you can start creating a system around you that helps make sure the right things happen at the right time — with enough time to deal with them properly.
The aim isn't to plan every detail or turn life into one enormous project plan. It's to stop the things you could have seen coming becoming last-minute problems. And when the predictable Stuff is being looked after, you create more capacity for everything else.
And leave some space
This is the important bit.
The point of getting organised isn't to create a perfectly planned life. And it definitely isn't to clear some time only to immediately fill it with more Stuff. It's to create capacity.
If you've dealt with some of the predictable things before they become urgent, there's more room for the unpredictable ones. More room to change your mind. Say yes to something unexpected. Stay somewhere an extra day. Have lunch with someone. Think. Rest. Be spontaneous.
You can't plan everything. That's partly why it's worth planning the things you can.
Sarah Says…
December starts before December. Look ahead, deal with some of the predictable Stuff early — and leave yourself some room to enjoy the unpredictable Stuff.
Tell Sarah…
Too much coming at you at once? Tell me what's going on. CONTACT SARAH