The Elf Blog

End of Quarter 1

Today ends the first quarter of 2012. That makes is a good time to look back and to look forward.

If you made resolutions, look at how well you've been keeping them. If you haven't been too faithful, remember that 75% of the year lies ahead. Plenty of time!

What steps have you taken to accomplish your goals? What can you do in the next quarter to get where you want to go?

Resolutions

You all now that I’m a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions.

The resoultions I make are more like a form of personal strategic planning – a list of things I hope to accomplish in the coming year and a listof practices to help me get there.

A good resolution needs to be specific, measurable, and realistic. T

hat being said, I made one resolution for this blog:

I will blog three times a week, consistently.

I also decided to start a new series: a weekly post of something to do that will enrich your life in some way. My plan is to post each week’s activity on Wednesday so you’ll have time before the weekend to plan. The activities won’t take a long time or cost a lot, but I like to give people time to integrate things into their calendars!

We’ll start tomorrow.

Your Year-End To-Do List!

With less than two days left in 2011, there’s still lots to do! As you might expect, I have a list for you.

• Make any year-end charitable donations that you would like to deduct on your 2011 taxes. (Don’t forget donating the old clothes, toys, and small appliances that you upgraded at Christmas. You can take a donation for those – plus, it helps de-clutter the house).

• Do a quick tidy of the house. You don’t want to start the new year feeling disordered. For bonus points, make up all the beds with nice fresh sheets!

• Schedule some time to reflect on your resolutions for 2012. As you know, I’m a big fan of new year’s resolutions. I treat them as an opportunity to do strategic planning for the year ahead. For me, they are more about goal-setting than anything else. If you do make resolutions, WRITE THEM DOWN in a place where you can refer to them often throughout the year.

• While things are still fresh in your mind, start a Christmas file or notebook. Use it to note decorations that need to be replaced, draw diagrams of where you placed various decorations, note especially successful recipes, etc. It will come in amazingly handy next year. A big part of being well-organized is to do today that which you will need next week.

• Finally, as the days of 2011 come to an end, take a few minutes and call an old friend or someone you need to apologize to or someone who may need some comfort. Do something to make contact. It will end the old year well and start the new one right!

Christmas Countdown: (Less than) 4 Weeks!

 

We are now under 4 weeks until Christmas!  It’s time to pick up the pace.

 

• Work on finishing up your Christmas cards.  You want them in the mail no later than December 15.
• Start your shopping in earnest. Decide how you shop best: a marathon or a bit at a time and schedule the time you need. Ideally, you should have at least half of your gifts bought before December 7^th.
• Mail gifts that have a distance to travel (anything outside the US).
• If you have some time, wrap the presents you’ve already bought.
• You may wish to start your decorating.  You may find it easier to do a little decorating each day.  It breaks up the work and you get the joy of watching your house be filled with Christmas.
• Begin finalizing your menus for Christmas entertaining as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• Make your New Year’s reservations.

Christmas Countdown - 7 Weeks

Christmas Eve is seven weeks from today! That means it's time to increase the intensity of our preparations:

• Start addressing and writing your Christmas cards. If you do a few each day, it will be a far easier and more pleasant task.
• Make a list of all the people you need to purchase gifts for and note the gifts you have already bought.
• Begin placing online orders for gifts in case there's a back order situation.
• If you need to ship gifts, buy them as soon as possible.  You'll want to leave plenty of time for shipping.  Why pay premium prices for overnight shipping because you didn't plan ahead?
• If you plan to craft any gifts, you need to allot significant time for the crafting.  You don't want to be hot gluing at 2 am on Christmas Eve.
• Take stock of your wrapping, lights, and other decorations so you'll know what you need to purchase.

 

Unexpected Tasks

Here are a few seasonal tasks that may slip your mind:

• Make your New Year's Eve plans!  The best events tend to sell out early.
• If you plan to go to any fancy parties, make sure you have the proper attire.  If necessary, purchase something new or take smething you have to the dry cleaner.  (Don't forget accessories!)
• Make sure you have batteries and memory disks for holiday photos and video.
• Find your stash of holiday music or make holiday playlists.
• Begin collecting and reviewing charitable requests.  You'll want to make your donations before December 31st to take tax deductions this year.
• If you have to ship gifts, lay in your shipping supplies (boxes, bubble wrap, tape, etc.).
• Check your toolbox to make sure you have a hammer, nails, screwdrivers, tape measure, level, etc. so you'll have what you need for decorating.

Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter of the year began Saturday.  That means that this week is a great time to take out your list of New Year's Resolutions (you did keep a list, right?) and evaluate how you've done.

If you haven't accomplished what you hoped to accomplish, look on the bright side -- you still have a whole three months to go!

If you can't realistically accomplish all of your goals, pick just one or two that you can achieve and recommit yourself to those.  It is better to do one or two things well than to make a half-hearted attempt at ten.

Third Quarter

Today starts the third quarter -- half the year is over!

On this holiday weekend, take a moment to look back over your new year's resolutions to see what you need to modify.  Think about the things you'd like to accomplish in the months ahead.  After all, there's still half the year left!

A Hint of Spring

Well, here in Washington, DC, there's FINALLY a hint of spring in the air.  We flirted with spring back in early March and then we returned to winter.  I'm going to believe that spring is actually here to stay this time. 

Since we have jsut begun the second quarter of the year, it's a good time to get out those New Year's resolutions you wrote three months ago.  Which ones are you keeping?  Which ones have you abandoned?  To what should you recommit yourself?  Are there any you need to revise?

My resolutions are a mixed bag.  Some I'm handling very well -- saving money, entertaining friends.  Others have always been better suited to summer.  A few I've re-interpreted in ways that work better. Some, I fear, shall have to be put off until a later date.

Still, just re-reading them periodically to remind myself of what I intended to accomplish helps me keep my focus where I want it.

Resolute Yet Flexible

Today is the 46th day of the new year.  You may well have forgotten your new year's resolutions by now.  That's why I always suggest writing them down.

If you did write them down, go back and take a look.  What have you taken steps to achieve?  What have you missed on?  What can you start on THIS WEEK?  Which resolutions need some modification?

I keep my list of resolutions in my phone, so they are easily accessible.  I have to say that I haven't done terribly well so far this year.  However, I have discovered the need to be flexible about some resolutions.  For example, one of my resolutions was to try at least one recipe a month from one of my new cookbooks.  The focus of the cookbook and the resolution was to get me cooking more consistently, using fresh ingredients. 

Well, I haven't made anything out of the cookbook yet, but I have been cooking a large batch of a favorite meal about once a week.  I then eat the leftovers for most of the week. That acomplishes the underlying goal, so that's good enough for me!