The Greatest Present is Your Presence
By Melissa Monsman
Is it old-fashioned when you think work should be done during work hours and after-work hours are meant for family and friends? There are a lot of people that grew up eating dinner with their families. Today that's rare! Getting together at least once a week to have a family dinner could be challenging. Cherish those family dinners together and be as present as possible while with them IRL (in real life, for those of us unfamiliar).
Unfortunately, our physical and mental presence isn’t always together. Some days are better than others with this because, quite honestly, time management gets a little messy. How does this happen? New projects pop up, quick turnarounds, unexpected technological issues (both user induced and not 😂) and the inability to say no to work and requests from family and friends!
What’s a people pleaser to do?
1. Write down all meetings, appointments, and projects.
Research shows if you physically write something out on paper, it’ll lead to better memorization.
(Science Daily)
2. If there is a day you need to get a lot done and an unexpected event pops up that you don’t need to attend, say no.
The holiday season, i.e. Thanksgiving time to January 1st is filled with events!
Stick to your game plan during the work day so that you do have the ability to stay present where your feet are planted this holiday season.
After you have mastered scheduling, it’s time to master this thing called “in real life socializing.”
1. Limit checking your social media! Set up a focus filter on your phone that will disengage easy access by tapping on an app to open it up and mindlessly scroll. This can also be done with notifications from messages.
2. Save email checking for work hours. See above for creating a focus filter for email messages, too.
In the comments, let us know your time management tips or fun things you enjoy doing with your friends and family during the season!