With the end of the year upon us, it is crucial to prepare for Q4. There will be end-of-year reports, time off of work, and holiday parties. Preparing ahead of time can help make Q4 go more smoothly and allow you to enjoy the time away from the office instead of feeling overwhelmed and busy. Here are 5 ways to prepare for Q4.
1. Set aside time to plan
Planning is an integral part of reaching goals and reducing overwhelm. Yet, it can feel like with so much to do, there needs to be more time to set aside and make a plan.
Making a plan allows you to work out mistakes on paper instead of making mistakes while doing the work. Planning also forces you to make decisions ahead of time which will help you make better decisions and reduce daily overwhelm.
2. Prepare for time off work.
Make sure you put in your time-off request early and take care of any issues. Once your time off request is approved, plan for the time you will be away from the office. Prepare ahead of time, ensure that your colleagues know you will be out of the office, and take care of any contingencies that need to be put in place.
3. Decide ahead of time what you will be doing during Q4
The more decisions you make ahead of time, the less overwhelmed you feel in the moment. Remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. So, if something is on your to-do list out of obligation, you can choose not to do it or not attend.
The other decisions you can make ahead of time are where you will be spending your time, how much money you will be spending, and how much you will be eating and drinking.
Decisions ahead of time can also be used for who you will be getting gifts for, how much you will spend on gifts, what you will bring to parties, and even what events you want to attend. Having it all on your calendar will help you be in the moment for the things you choose to do.
It is much easier to say no to eating just one more cookie when you plan only to have two cookies that day. Planning these decisions ahead of time also help you feel in control and like you are the director of your life instead of feeling like overeating or busying is something that happened to you.
Click here to get the free guide, 3 Ways to Feel Less Overwhelmed at Work.
4. Spend time reflecting on what went well over the year
It is important to reflect on what went well the past year so you can bring those positives with you into the new year.
The end of the year is a great time to reflect on what went well and what didn’t. You can make better decisions for the upcoming year by reflecting on the past year.
5. Carve out extra time for overflow
In the schedule, you make for yourself, ensure you add more time if you run into a problem requiring more time than you set aside.
For example, maybe you decided you would get your aunt a pair of slippers from Target for a Christmas gift and allotted 40 minutes on your calendar for this. But, when you drove to your closest Target, they were out of slippers. So, you had to go fifteen minutes to the next Target to find them, and the task took you an hour and a half instead of the initial 40 minutes. If you didn’t build in buffer time and are already supposed to be on your next task, you will feel chronically behind and like there needs to be more time to get everything done.
That is why creating specific overflow time is crucial so you can take care of things that took longer than initially expected.
A Final Note
These are five ways to prepare for Q4 and lessen the overwhelming and busyness that is typical at the end of the year. I hope that at least one of these tips helps you have a more calm and enjoyable Q4.