5 Things I'm Doing Now to Make Life Easier Later

We are entering a busy season where there’s so many things to do and not a lot of time (or mental energy) to do it. This month is speeding by and I’m in denial that next month is December already.

I love this time of year and I cannot wait to experience it all through Vienna’s eyes (not to mention, she’s also turning one...where did my baby go?) If I’m not careful, though, the holiday season will fly by and I’ll get overwhelmed in the process.

So I figured this week I would share what I’m doing now to make life easier later. Big or small, here are the things I’m doing that my future self will be grateful for.

{ONE} Writing detailed summaries for January meetings.

I’ve had to schedule a few work meetings for January, and I know that when it comes time to attend them, I (and probably the other team members) will have completely forgotten the context of why we’re meeting. So I’ve started writing detailed meeting summaries that explain the goal and objectives of why we need to meet. It sounds obvious (because it kind of is) but I know it’ll be helpful later.

{TWO} Scheduling time for holiday-related things.

There are certain things I love to do every Christmas season: Watch Elf, visit Longwood Gardens, bake cookies with my mom, go Christmas shopping, etc. Instead of hoping these things all get done “somehow,” I’ve started scheduling and writing them down on the calendar. Giving each thing an actual date/time makes it become a reality instead of a floating to-do list item in my brain.

{THREE} Creating a holiday budget.

Before Luke and I start Christmas shopping, we sit down in November and map out our holiday budget. We list out everyone we need to buy for (friends, family, coworkers, etc). and come up with a general estimate of how much we want to spend per person. We’ve done this every year since we got married and it really helps us not go completely overboard with spending in December.

{FOUR} Decluttering high-traffic areas of our home.

With Vienna’s birthday and Christmas a few days apart, I know there will be quite an influx of new things coming into our home by the end of December. I’m starting to declutter high-traffic areas of our home (like the kitchen, play area, and bathrooms) to make sure the things that are no longer serving our family are removed. There are some bigger decluttering projects in the works, but this also includes the simple decluttering tasks of trashing expired foods from the fridge and putting lingering off-season clothing away in storage.

{FIVE} Keeping a list of gift ideas on my phone.

I keep a running list of gift ideas for people on my phone throughout the year. When someone mentions an item or I notice a need, I write it down. I love giving gifts but I’m not always the most creative gift giver, so this simple list provides the perfect starting point. Instead of scrambling until the last minute to find the “perfect” gift, I review the list for ideas I may have forgotten otherwise.