Wind Down…But Don't Stop

Dec2013 December is here. Let the celebration begin! It is a great time for relaxing with family, friends, and coworkers at a slower pace. But…January is coming. I don’t want to spoil Christmas by suggesting that you focus on January. On the other hand, I don’t want you to spoil January by completely ignoring it in December.

So how about this: wind down—enjoy the season—but don’t come to a stop. A few suggestions:

Identify five things that can be finished in four hours or less (at work, home, church, etc.), schedule a day to do them, and then get them done before December 31^st. (There are about 700 hours left in 2013. Surely you can allocate 20 of them to five things that need to come off your “to do” list.)
Make five phone calls you have been putting off.
Systematically clean out your Inbox so you finish the year with no more than five—okay, ten—messages that are unanswered.
Do a little Get-2014-Off-To-A-Great-Start planning by making a list of ten things you are going to get done between January 2^nd and January 10^th. They don’t have to be huge things; just things that will make a difference.
Surprise your family or a friends with one spontaneous evening of something they will enjoy (Christmas lights, game night, movie night, etc.).
In terms of celebrating Christmas, how about:
Do Less—Worship More
Spend Less—Give More

If you don’t like any of my suggestions, make your own list. But whatever you do, wind down, but don’t stop!

[If you are in retail, “wind down in December” surely sounds like a joke—this is prime time for you. Maybe January becomes your wind down time, or May, or…whatever. Everyone needs a wind down time, so pick one and take advantage of it.]

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