I am totally stressing. I can't find appropriate holiday cards. I swept over to Paper Source in Beverly Hills this afternoon. Then, Barney's on Wilshire, The Good Life at Party on La Cienega, and finally the phenomenal Fred Segal on Melrose. Nothing. Well, lots. But nothing as clever as I discovered last year from Mira Mira. The holiday stationery from Mrs. John L. Strong Fine Stationery at Barney's were clearly the most elegant, but still not right.
I feel like I've got a timer going, and if my cards go out too late, people won't think this "Professional Organizer" is "organized." Not funny. The whole day didn't start out mellow anyway, as I began it by reading the Reuters Jerry Falwell holiday tree/Christmas tree controversy. So now I am worrying about the world, too.
Can you relate to any of this? Do the holidays stress you out? Do you need a Holiday Intervention? Some facts are on the way to ease your mind...
My friend Sarah Murphy and I worked alongside each other last month at a Los Angeles resources and organizing expo. Sarah, a Southern California small business partner with FranklinCovey, shared some interesting facts her company recently discovered. The company surveyed 3,000 customers and asked them how stressful certain activities are to them during the holidays. The areas most commonly described as moderate to highly stressful by the majority of respondents are as follows:
10 Top Areas of Holiday Organizing Stress
- (78%) Spending more money than was budgeted
- (73%) Selecting the right gift for the right person
- (69%) Taking care of physical well-being (managing stress, keeping up a workout routine, eating well, etc.)
- (68%) Managing workload commitments at work in order to take time-off during the holidays
- (65%) Sending holiday cards or gifts on time
- (63%) Managing the time to shop for everyone
- (59%) Preparing a budget before shopping
- (53%) Tracking expenditures to avoid surprises when bills arrive
- (51%) Having the appropriate attire for a party/event ready and on time
- (51%) Keeping family traditions (attending religious celebrations, writing stories, writing in a journal, etc.)
It's nice to see that holiday card stress got on this list, and that people agree with John Trosko. I guess I'm still old-fashioned. But why do people at this time of year seem like they're going to fall off of Santa's Sleigh at the Hollywood Christmas Parade?
"People have more to do during the holiday season than at any other time of the year,” said Stephen R. Covey, vice chairman of FranklinCovey and best-selling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. “But, those people who take the time to plan in advance and really manage their time will find they actually have less stress and more peace during the holiday season.”
Okay, so what can we all do better to avoid snowing ourselves in a closet this December? The experts say "better planning and a stronger commitment to those plans can reduce stress from the activities identified in the survey, as well as the many other activities that contribute to holiday stress."
I've given myself until Saturday to find the cards, but I've also budged time for myself to write more tips for the season, including tomorrow's "10 Tips for a More Organized Holiday" and a special announcement about our blog's 100th post.
Readers, we're interested-- what stresses you out on holidays? How have you changed your behavior to make things smoother? Please post comments below.
Related OrganizingLA Blog posts:
A Handy Holiday Switch-- Holiday Outsourcing
