As the end of the year is nearing, all of us feel the burden more and more upon our shoulders. It’s safe to assume that everyone, without exception, is looking forward to having holidays – the blessed time when you have chances to catch up with anything you’ve been wanting to do for weeks, like allotting your time to your friends and family or just winding down to take off the pressure.
Generally the first things that cross your mind are traveling and going in for endless fun time. But often there are other things that have been requiring attention for a while, and you may want to tackle them at your leisure.
If you’re looking for a way to take some responsibilities off and make you feel lighter and freer, and clear your soul path before the year is through, here are some life hacks to make your holidays a productive as well as fun time!
Get your appointments prioritized
You may have put off some appointments with doctors, dentists, or beauty specialists. How long was it when you pet was at the vet? What about your car, did you take it for a check-up recently? All these issues can get troublesome and difficult to squeeze into your regular schedule when you’re back on the job.
Spend time with your family
There’s a survey revealing that parents and their children come together for under 8 hours during a week! Of course, it is better on weekends when the family time comes up to about two and a half hours. Yet it is grossly insufficient, and planning winter holiday events together you will create more fond memories for you all and feel the spirit that binds you in a great family.
Try out new technologies
Come to think of it, you have to have all these new technologies on-hand, and the best time to learn all the tricks in Snapchat is not when you’re torn apart by everyday affairs. You can allot some of your downtime to downloading apps – Slack, WhatsApp, photo editing stuff, play around with them, and probably involve some other family member into the exploration, sending and receiving messages and making your content as perfect as you can. If you already know how to use them, you may also have fun in another way – play stargames on your mobile device or computer.
You want to acquire a habit?
There are different opinions as to how long it takes to develop a habit – starting from three weeks. Probably the period varies with different people. Anyway, if you want to wean yourself into a new habit, there’s no better time to get going!
You want to develop a skill?
You know you have always wanted to master this skill. Especially if it is helpful in your career – it’s just that you couldn’t find time for it. Well, now you have it – get yourself going, and then it will be easier to follow up on it even if time is scarce. You will make it!
If the skill in question is not directly related to your job – why, it’s even better! If you get involved parts of your brain that are dormant because they are not called upon to do their bit on the job, it can be a huge boost to your enjoyment of life, creativity and the general sense of well-being… It may open up new vistas of life and bring a new passion and new interesting people in your life!
Think of future journeys and save money by making reservations
Do you know where you are going to travel beforehand? Now that you have more time, you can make a more thorough research on your destination and arrange for all necessary reservations well in advance. There is a chance that, flooded by current affairs, you can remember about your journey too late, and here’s your guarantee that you won’t have to rush.
Rest reading
Reading up articles on the information you need or famous books you missed is really a very good (and educational) rest. Ensconce yourself in the armchair with a blanket and enjoy a cold evening indoors, chalking up interesting subjects for talking with your friends and co-workers.
Enlist for volunteer help
This is something that will take you out of your habitual run of events, and leave behind an unforgettable experience that comes from rendering services. Helping other people will bring you a unique kind of satisfaction and fulfillment, help you connect with others, give a stronger community feeling. There are social benefits attached. What’s more, medical studies discovered a link between doing volunteer service and being healthy.
If you can’t pinpoint a cause offhand, do a little research in the library, call the local animal shelter, youth organizations, hospital asking them what kind of volunteering jobs they need done.
Think ahead
Without planning, time flows away quickly, and you find yourself in the next year before you actually realized it. This way you neglect such important tasks as sitting down to ruminate on the past year, assess it and plan ahead for the coming one. When you have clear-cut goals, you can see how successful you are and remain to feel motivated even on rainy days.
It’s better done on paper, so you can see what you have achieved and how you can use it for setting goals for the year to come. When you’ve done with large goals, set smaller ones for each month.
