Stop Procrastinating and Start Pre-Planning The Holidays Now

Halloween is over and we’re officially in the festive season, so it’s time to start getting organized. If you’re anything like me, you probably go into November with the great intentions of getting everything done before December even starts… but then suddenly it’s the week before Christmas and you’re armed with a to-do list longer than the actual year itself! There are gifts to organize, parties to plan, dodgy Dad socks to buy and you’re starting to feel just a little bit panicked about it all. Especially this year since the world is starting to return to some kind of normality and there’s even more pressure to make sure this one is a “good one”.

But firstly, breathe! The festive reason is about fun, family, and crazy good times. That’s what counts. So I’m going to help you get the ball rolling right now to make sure you have a stress-free, chilled-out holiday, all thanks to a bit of pre-planning and a lot less procrastination. Ready to get started? (this is the part where you say “ready? I was born ready”).

The first thing to do is to set up your Buckets Christmas Project. You can set up a few different projects depending on how extensive your to-do list is, or you can combine everything into one — it’s totally up to you. I like to have a few individual Projects to keep everything from getting overwhelming!

For the purpose of this post, let’s look at how you can organize your Christmas gift list. Remember, you always want to keep things as simple as possible to get your tasks completed when creating a Project. So for this one, I’ve simply used a general Kanban layout that you’ll all be familiar with by now (if not, check out this post on setting up your first Project), with 4 columns to take your to-do list from start to finish. This is a template you can use for every Project and simply customize it to your own preferences.

Also, don’t forget to keep things fun! You can personalize your Project with a background and avatar from the selection we have available or upload your own pics.

Once you’ve added your Cards to the Project, you’ll want to do things like Notes, Checklists, Labels, and Due Dates to make sure everything is done on time. Don’t forget to add anyone else involved in the planning by just adding them as members to the Card. The Notes section is a great place to add in any ideas that you have about what gift to get and you can drop in any links or attachments for them to have a look at too.

Another super handy feature is the Sandbox, as you can literally just grab your phone when you’re out and about and take note of anything that comes to mind that you might want to add to the Project later.

Here are a more few things we’ve learned over the years that might help you out:

• Once you’ve bought a gift, tick it off your list. You’ll always see something “better” right after you’ve bought the perfect gift, but you’ll end up with 10+ gifts per person and WAY over budget if you’re not careful!
• Manage your time. Set a time limit for how long you’ll spend in each store or on finding each gift, and stick to it. The longer you hang around, the more likely it is that you’ll start buying on impulse and ditch your list!
• Don’t go Christmas shopping on an empty stomach, you need a full tank of fuel for this adventure! Plan a mid-shop lunch break in advance where you can chill out and reset. It’ll work wonders and give you time to catch up on your Buckets list!
• Online shopping is the absolute biz, so if you’re getting overwhelmed try checking if you still have time to buy any of your items online. Some stores offer next day deliveries right up to Christmas week.
• And, finally, don’t forget your phone and make sure it’s charged! With Buckets in your pocket, your shopping trip will be a breeze.

Anything You Can Think Of Can Be Organized In Buckets

This is just one example of how you can start pre-planning, but remember you can set up Projects for your social plans, work plans, and anything that you need to stay on top of in the build-up to the holiday season. Once you get everything planned out for this year, you can simply archive your Cards and Projects and open them again next year to use as a template for your 2022 planning process!

Thanks For Reading!

Buckets helps to supercharge collaboration and organization needs across the world. If you enjoyed reading this post, please let us know by clicking and holding down the 👏 button!

To sign up for Buckets, just click here.

For regular updates from the Buckets team, you can also catch us on Twitter @bucketsdotco.