Almost exactly a year ago I popped into Phoenix 98 FM, to chat to the lovely Michelle Ward.
If you’re a regular visitor to the blog you already know that I’m a regular guest on the show, and together we present a slot called ‘Happy Club‘, whereby I dispense some tips and hints on happiness, and related subjects (for instance; here’s a show that we did on how to survive Christmas).
This particular time we were supposed to be talking about Boxing Day, but instead we ended up talking about, well, me – specifically, how I became an author and my tendency to get totally wrapped up in building a career, unfortunately at the expense on my own happiness.
We do eventually get around to discussing Boxing Day.
Eventually.
Anyway, if you’ve got a few moments, have a listen. Click the PLAY button in the image below, or click here to open YouTube. The last couple of minutes of the interview went a bit screwy, so I’ve just faded it out on this version – you haven’t missed much, honest.
If you’d prefer to ‘listen‘ to this post (rather than read it), scroll down to the bottom and click the big play button in the centre of the video box, or click here if you’re reading this in an email
Yes folks, it’s that time of year again; it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
For some that means mince pies and merriment, for others it’s mayhem and madness, but regardless of how you feel about the festive season one thing cannot be denied. It can be a tad stressful.
In addition to our usual busy lives, for one month, maybe more, most of us have to contend with (at least some) of the following:
Christmas preparation (presents, cards, etc. etc)
Other deadlines (“this must be finished before xmas”, “…before the end of year” etc)
Yet more deadlines / restrictions! (last posting day, office close down, system change-freeze, ‘Sunday’ service)
Adverse weather!
Rubbish driving conditions!! (more traffic, less daylight, adverse weather)
Extra social events (office party, clubs, kid’s panto)
Hang overs!
Colds and flu
Is it any wonder that some of us wish that Christmas only came around every other year, or every four years, or maybe once a century.
A few years back I came up with a solution to all this nonsense. Behold STRESS LIST DAY
Step 1: Make a List
Make a list of all the stuff that stressing you now
Not a general list; this is not an ‘Ugh List’
Only stuff that absolutely has to be sorted
Only stuff that keeps popping into your mind
There’s some very interesting research that shows that if you keep thinking about something other than the thing you’re supposed to be thinking about right now, you’re pretty much hard-wired to feel unhappy.
Here’s my stress list..
Christmas!
Cards
Presents
Niece
Parents
Brother in law
What does my sister want me to take on Christmas Day?
Clients
Client 1
Client 2
Client 3
Next book(s)
finish edits
agree cover
audio?
launch in January!
Step 2: Prioritise
Re-sort your list with the following in mind
Importance (how much trouble would I be in if this didn’t happen?)
Deadline dates (last posting date, event date, last working day)
Step 3: Schedule Stress List Day
Take your diary and schedule 4 to 5 Stress List days / mornings / evenings (or however many days you think you’ll need) between now and a week or so before Christmas.
Better too many than not enough
Make the time! Cancel other things if you have to!
Just knowing you’ve set aside time to sort these things should make you feel better
Step 4: Work The List
On Stress List Day, work your list in order. You probably won’t feel much better after the first stress list day, but by the end of the second, and the third, when you’ve started to make a dent in that list, your overall stress levels should start to fall.
If it works for you schedule next years Stress List days now, a little earlier than this years.
If you have a question for next month’s show feel free to drop me a line, post a comment below, tweet either myself or Michelle, or send me a message on facebook.
The theme for January will be ‘New Year – New You!‘
As per the Boxing Day Rules it had been booked out in my diary for some time, and also as per the rules I had no plans whatsoever. So what did I do with my day of unscheduled free-form fun?
Absolutely nothing.
There was a little facebook activity, a half hearted attempt at sorting through the edits for my novel, but other than that I pretty much spent the day sleeping, or sitting in front of the TV. And blimey-o’riley did it feel good.
I’d spent much of the previous day travelling back from Devon in horrendous bank-holiday traffic, and when I eventually made it home home, Essex was in the midst of a freak monsoon. Seriously. We had two inches of rainwater in thirty minutes, and it didn’t stop raining for another thirteen hours.
Whether any of this was responsible for the way I felt on Sunday morning I’m not really sure. All I knew is that once I’d dragged myself out of bed I didn’t really want to do anything more taxing than make a cup of tea, and sit in front of the tube. And as per the Boxing Day Rules –that’s absolutely fine.
I pass this on because I had a ‘happy talkie’ session the other week with a reader who was beating herself up for not having enough items on her ‘potential-Boxing Day‘ list. She’d somehow got it into her head that although Boxing Day isn’t planned, it’s still a day when LOTS happens (hence why it requires a list). But that’s not the case at all.
Boxing Day is a day for you. It’s a day to recharge. Be in the moment. Do whatever you fancy. The list is there simply to safe guard you against boredom, or in case you’re not feeling particularly inspired, but it’s by no means essential. If all you want to do on Boxing Day is chillax – as my niece would say – then that’s fine too.
And if you enjoyed that you might find this version (by Megan Nicole) equally entertaining. I particularly like the way she ‘cleans up’ some of the lyrics whilst her Mum’s sitting in the background reading a self-help book.
Feel free to share your Boxing Day experiences, questions, or observations in the comments box below, or over on the facebook page.
peterjonesselfhelpbooks.wordpress.com 