Give yourself the gift of time at Christmas!

Time at Christmas: Our time is often limited, there is a lot to do, we are under pressure. From a business perspective, time is of course also an important factor. This is all the more true during the Christmas period. That’s why we show you methods for optimizing your time management and explain why this is ultimately more about “self-management”.

Time at Christmas – a scarce commodity

The old adage that time is money is just one of many aspects. An important and topical issue is the stress caused by a (real or perceived) lack of time, which for many people significantly reduces their everyday quality of life. This comes to a head around Christmas.

That’s why it’s important to set the right priorities, both at work and at home. What do you allow yourself time for, where do you save it? How do you manage to switch off from time to time?

Procrastination (i.e. putting off tasks) and wasting time are major hurdles that disrupt or even stop meaningful time and task management. They are often associated with negative feelings such as fear of failure, a guilty conscience because of unfinished tasks and, of course, stress. So what can we do? As we cannot change the amount of time available to us, we have to change something else: ourselves.

Time for reflection, time for Christmas

How can you stop yourself from wasting your limited time instead of using it constructively and positively? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this question, but there are many different approaches. Try out which one suits you best and motivates you, then destructive habits will change almost by themselves.

It is always helpful to make a plan. You can divide large tasks into smaller tasks, as this automatically brings a certain structure to your project. You can then optimize this structure by prioritizing the tasks, for example. In this way, an otherwise overwhelming task suddenly becomes manageable and it is much easier to get down to work. You should definitely plan enough breaks for this, otherwise your plan will become unrealistic.

Instead of figuring it all out on your own, you can also fall back on time management methods that have already been tried and tested. In the past, we have already presented various techniques and tips on how to organize yourself well in your day-to-day work. In terms of your time too, of course. You can find two of them here: Using the Pareto Principle for your daily work or Understanding New Work.

Today we want to introduce you to another method for effective time and self-management that, interestingly, places particular emphasis on breaks:

The Pomodoro method at a glance

The Pomodoro method was named after the tomato-shaped kitchen clock used by Italian entrepreneur Francesco Cirillo. He used it to time the intervals in which the Pomodoro method involves concentrated and undisturbed work. Frequent breaks should ensure that you stay mentally fit and don’t wander off.

Start by dividing your tasks into smaller units, estimating the time required for the individual tasks and entering them in a list according to priority. A task should be completed in a maximum of 25 minutes, otherwise it must be broken down further.

Select a task and make a brief note of what needs to be done.
Set an egg timer for 25 minutes. During this time interval, work with concentration and without external disturbances.
Once the task has been completed, it is crossed out.
This is followed by a five-minute break. This break is called a pomodoro.
Repeat the previous steps.
After four pomodori and work intervals, there is then a 20-minute break to gather your strength.

If the phone does ring or an important email arrives, you should make a quick note of it and deal with it later.

An important principle of the Pomodoro technique is to create a sense of achievement. After every completed task, you can congratulate yourself – you’ve done something again! This success motivates you to keep going and is in direct contrast to the bad feelings caused by procrastination. So you get more done and feel more satisfied!

A precious gift

The Christmas season can be a good opportunity to remind ourselves of the value of the time we have available. In this hectic phase of the year, simply try not to let yourself get stressed. “Time instead of stuff!” is a good motto for this. Instead of pushing your way through crowded shopping centers, you could give some of your precious time to family and friends. If you allocate it wisely, there will be plenty of it! Enjoy your time at Christmas.