Tag Archives: life-work balance

The 55 Days of Christmas? Twelve Survival Tips! (my annual tradition)

And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Did you notice the Christmas decorations going up on Halloween? Did a chill run down your spine? The holiday season seems to be getting longer and longer and shorter. Yes, shorter. Look at the expectations this season puts on you.

Yes, this post is now an annual tradition.

Fifty five days are nowhere near enough to achieve Countess MarthaRachelNigelaPaula FoodNetwork perfection. I’m not sure I’m even up to Real Simple standards. So much to do! Are your cards out? Did you shop ’til you dropped on Black Friday? Did you make wonderful decorations out of recycled materials? Have you picked the absolutely perfect gift for everyone on your list? Do you have color-coordinated wrapping paper, tags, and ribbon? Can you tie a perfect bow?

When will you be having your holiday party? What will you serve? What will you wear to everyone else’s event? Do you know what to tip your hairdresser? What’s the politically correct holiday greeting? So many questions, so little time!

Holiday madness really set in when I visited a friend for Thanksgiving a few years back. She had decided that she didn’t feel up to cooking, so she ordered from her local supermarket. And then began to obsess. It wouldn’t taste good. There wouldn’t be enough. Turkey, cranberry sauce, whole wheat rolls, roasted butternut squash, mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pie clearly was not enough for five people.

We added extra side dishes – home made cranberry sauce, candied chestnuts, fruit stuffing, baked onions, candied sweets, baked sweets, peas with fresh mushrooms and three more pies. Oh – and at the last minute she ran back for a turkey breast – just in case.

Everything tasted great, and we all had a good time, but it really made me think about how easy it is to get caught up in holiday excess. So – how will you have a peaceful holiday season? Here are a few simple suggestions.

1. Just like Santa, make a list and check it twice. While you’re checking, do a little reality check. Are you buying gifts for too many people? Are you planning on spending an unrealistic amount on each? Have you burdened yourself with impossible-to-find items? (No, my cousin will probably NOT get that antique fruit bowl this year.)

2. Only accept invitations that make you happy. If that means none, go for it! An unbreakable prior engagement is always a valid excuse. No one needs to know that the engagement may be with your couch.

3. Wear comfortable clothes. Always. Don’t let tight shoes or a dubious neckline spoil your fun.

4. Shop in comfortable shoes. Carry your wallet someplace easy for you to reach but hard for anyone else to get at. Don’t burden yourself down with too many packages.

5. Buy on line. Presents, dinner, cards, reservations – all just a click away.

6. If you must send packages, remember that the Postal Service will now pick up packages at your home.

7. Don’t bake unless you would go into a serious depression if deprived of the experience. If you do bake, set limits. I will never again have more containers of cookies than can fit on a fully extended kitchen table.

8. This one is for next year. Pick up interesting gifts throughout the year. If you travel, this is a great way to have truly unique gifts. Just don’t forget where you put them. Last year I gave several lovely objects I’d bought in Sicily three years ago. I’d put them in a safe place. At least they eventually surfaced.

9. Simplicity is very classy. Repeat that twenty times, then start cutting back on your plans.

10. Gift cards are a wonderful thing. Want to give the perfect gift? Not only are gift cards perfect, but you can fit them in your carry-on luggage.

11. Travel light. Carry your pills, jewelry and one-ounce containers or the liquids you need. Wear something comfortable and a bit classy so that if your luggage is lost you’re reasonably prepared.

12. Block out time on your calendar to do absolutely nothing but take care of yourself – whether that means go to a movie, meditate, get a massage, or just take a nap. Pace yourself.

FarmVille Frenzy – Life Lessons?

Thousands of intelligent men and women – most of whom have real lives and careers – are spending hours rescuing lost calfs or planting tomatoes on fantasy farms on Zynga’s FarmVille. Why? And why have I become one of them?

Speculation runs from evil plots (remember the Alex Baldwin commercials for Hulu.com?) through relaxation to community-building. Early on, Andy Wibbels remarked early on that he wondered what would happen if he spent as much time on his business as he did to farming. I think he got his answer, because he’s left the farm and his business ventures are thriving.

Most of us were lured in by a friend. Mine was someone who missed her farmland origins. I tried farming, and I was hooked. As an urban dweller, the closest I come to a farm or a farmer on a regular basis is the Union Square Greenmarket. It was peaceful to plant and harvest virtual produce. It didn’t take a lot of time, though, to get caught up in “the sparklies” – all the little extra doo-dads for the farm.

Communities began to grow as farmers acquired neighbors and earned points for performing various chores on each other’s farms. Now, FarmVille has introduced Co-ops. Teams work together to bring in a large harvest. Here’s where teamwork and cooperation really begin to peak. A band of farmers figures out how to work together to plant exactly the right number of items to meet their collective goal.

Insanity? Maybe. But there are life lessons here. As other writers have pointed out, this does build community. If I could cooperate with my real neighbors the same way I do with my virtual ones, we could do wonderful things to improve our community.

If I could build a business team half as efficient as my FarmVille co-op, I would be doing very, very well. And if I were to be half as persistent with working on my blog or my book or workshops as I am with feeding my virtual puppy, I’d be realizing more real dreams than virtual ones.

Will that happen? Well, this post is a start!

Life-Work Cafe is Back!

Need a great place to stop by and chat about your career?  Bring your own fresh-brewed and pull up a chair in the Life-Work Cafe every Monday night at 7:00 PM Eastern. This is a virtual Cafe for real-life discussions about work and about life. If you want some advice on finding your next job, moving up, changing careers – this is the place to be. If you’re thinking about moving out of the workforce or into an entrepreneurship – pull up a chair. If there’s something in your workplace or in your work life that you’d like to change – we’re here.

Join Dr. Susan R Meyer and occasional guest hosts for an hour of lively conversation and some clear next steps. Send me a note at dr.susan@life-workcoach for call-in details.