Two months left of 2013! November and December are two of my favourite months of the year. They are traditionally busier months as we have birthdays, end of school year activities, Christmas preparation and festivities, but I love them all the same.
Over the last couple of years I have found to ensure I actually enjoy this time of year, I need to be very protective of my time. I have standard email responses now for those requesting something from me that will require anything more than about 30 minutes of time.
It explains that due to time constraints as much as I would love to participate, I will not be able to. It is hard saying no, especially to those who know you. For me having a very politely worded standard response, prevents me from over thinking it and trying to work out if I can squish it in somehow.
As I noted in a post last year, Reframing The Decision:
There are times when I need to say no to others, so that I can be saying yes to my family – yes I will be available for you, yes I will free up that time to get more rest so I am not tired, yes to enjoying the moment with you. By keeping the “yes” for my family in my mind when I make this decision, while I still feel bad saying no sometimes, it does make it easier for me.
If you find it hard to say no like I do, this is a great time to flex your decision making muscles and save some time for your family this festive season.
How do you make sure you do not over commit at this time of the year?
My October goal review
Goals | Progress |
|---|---|
Me - I am less rushed and healthier. |
|
| Continue to improve my diet: one meat free meal a week, reduce consumption of sugar and carbs. | I am wanting to try a few more stand by recipes for snacks as I find I rely heavily on nuts, so will experiment this month with that. |
| Read six books by the end of the year. | You can read my latest book review here - Rushing Woman’s Syndrome by Dr Libby Weaver |
| Add variety to my exercise regime. | Goal met. In October I ran my first marathon! |
| Sleep at least 6 hours a night on a regular basis. | Still a work in progress! |
Family - We spend more time doing things together. |
|
| Monthly family meetings. | Goal met! |
| Eat out together on a quarterly basis. | Not applicable this month. |
| Have an active family holiday. | Thanks to Jetstar this goal is now completed. We had the most amazing holiday in Japan. You can read about our adventures here - Japan With Kids. |
| Two big bush walks throughout the year. | Not applicable this month. |
Relationship - We have more time together on our own and support each others interests. |
|
| A weekend away in 2013. | We had a night away in the city in October which was so fab. More to come on this! |
| Attend an event in the Comedy Festival, see 1 play, see 1 live music gig and a attend one event at the Melbourne Festival. | Attended a gig as part of Melbourne Festival in Oct. |
| Mr I will play football, cricket and cycle. | We are at the point now where we have a spreadsheet to manage who is doing what, so we can fit both our training schedules in. |
| I will continue exercising 5 - 6 times a week. | Goal met! |
Work - Improved usability and resources on the blog and improved blogging skills. |
|
| Analyse PWK survey and implement changes to the blog by quarter one. | Completed. |
| Develop the calendar to the next stage by quarter two. | No longer proceeding with this. |
| Take course at Australian Writers Centre by quarter three. | Not applicable this month. |
| Release new product by quarter four. | Have changed the goal for this from being something short term, to longer term. Unsure of when I will launch it as yet. |