Most people think that the holiday season is the worst time to get organized because of the added stress of the season. However, this holiday season is the best time to get organized because:

1. Being organized gives the mental availability to enjoy the holidays.

Organizing for the holidays, planning for home and work tasks allows people to reach the holidays having done everything they needed and wanted to do, able to relax and enjoy the season.

2. Eliminating the stress of disorganization results in better productivity and health.

Disorganization generates high levels of stress. Stress, in turn, affects one’s ability to concentrate and think effectively by reducing blood flow to the thinking and decision-making part of the brain. It also favors illness by depressing the immune and digestive systems and increasing blood pressure. Being organized, by completely eliminating this source of stress, allows people to be more productive at work and at home, to be healthier, and thus to reach the holidays themselves in much better shape and spirits.

3. Being organized can give as much as a week of extra time.

People, on average, waste between one and two hours a day to disorganization and poor time-management skills, or a full week over the holiday season. Being organized is an easy way to reclaim that time.

4. Being organized results in a relaxed end-of-year and readiness for the new year.

A result of being organized for the holiday season is that, since everything is done on time, or even early, the holidays become a time of relaxation, even vacation. This, in turn, gives the focus and availability to fully focus on the new year and get started effectively.

5. Being organized results in added respect at work.

Organized people tend to get more respect and admiration at work during the holiday season, because they are the calm in the middle of the end-of-year storm, poised, on time, ready for everything. Since annual reviews are usually done early the following year, this calm, organized attitude has been known to result in promotions.

6. Being organized saves money.

Being organized saves money because the risks of buying duplicates, having to rush and grab a gift for more than expected, or being tempted by all the offers and activity in stores into spending much more than intended, is greatly reduced, and easily adds up to hundreds of dollars saved per person each year.

7. Knowing how to plan for the holidays is knowing how to plan for everything.

The skills learned by getting organized this holiday season easily transfer in any other area of personal or professional life.

And the bonus reason 8: The benefits of doing it once last forever.

Once a plan is set for the holidays, the decorations are organized, and an end-of-year schedule is created, keeping it in a binder means that the full planning will already be done for the next year, and the year after that, leaving time to refine, create, invent more things ― or not.

 

Ready to get your life and environment organized this holiday season? Not sure how to do it? No worries. There are programs, such as Holiday Mastery to help you make it happen without stress and without strain.

 

Karin Stewart, PhD, is the creator of Holiday Mastery, founder of Daily Mastery and your guide to a happy, stress-free and relaxed holiday season. She has helped hundreds live the life they want in the time they have, and want to do the same for you this holiday season. Sign up for your no-cost Holiday Mastery teleseminar at Holiday Mastery