Give your future January-self a Christmas present
Datum: 2024-12-03 10:00
Imagine coming back to work after a relaxing holiday over Christmas and New Year’s. You have rested and let go of work completely, but now it is time to get back into it since a lot of what is on your list needs to be finished rather soon.
Saying that you feel reluctant to pick up the pace is an understatement, but then, to your surprise, you notice that someone has already done one of the tasks due in January and it is laying completely finished on your desk as if served on a silver platter!
The funny thing is, that the one who prepared this pleasant surprise for you, was you — but it was your former, December-version of yourself.
For you who prefer listening to reading, this post is also available as an episode of the “Done!” podcast:
Only one more thing
If you are like most people, these final days before the Holidays are hectic, to say the least, and the piles of things to do quite large. The tempo is high and you are ticking things off your to-do-list at pace.
Surely there is room for just one more task — just the one — which would be something due in January? Imagine the look of surprise on your face when you find the task all finished in January — what a gift!
Do this
Provide your future self with some relief by:
- Browsing your to-do-list and identifying what is due in January.
- Choose a task that you might as well do now.
- Include it amongst all the tasks you have prioritized and will do before Christmas.
- That’s it. It will be more than enough.
A little more now, but less later
If you finish something today that you will not have to do later, you will give yourself more of a nice, slow start in January. You get to enjoy the realization that something you were getting ready to dig into is already done, and you will have time and energy to invest in other tasks. Your burden before Christmas does, however, become slightly heavier, but perhaps only marginally since you probably have lots to do and are already working at a high pace.
Do you have any other ideas?
How do you ensure that your post-Holiday January and your transition back to work is as smooth as possible? Do you have any ideas or tips you would like to share? You never know if your particular tip is what helps someone else to solve a real problem in their lives — share it in an email to me!
(By the way, do you know what the best part of December is?)
I'll give you more!
If you want more tips on how to create good structure at work, there are many ways to get that from me - in podcasts, videos, books, talks and other formats.
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