It’s November 1st, which officially means it’s Christmas. I don’t believe that and neither do you, but everyone is trying to make us believe it’s true. While we still have time before Christmas, let’s take a bit of time to do A Christmas Brain Dump to prepare our hearts and minds for the upcoming holiday season.
A Christmas Brain Dump
A brain dump is simply writing everything down in your brain. A Christmas Brain Dump is writing everything down in your brain about Christmas. You know you’ve been thinking about it at least a little, so it’s time to get it down on paper. Grab a notebook or open up your Notes app and write down everything you can think of that you need to think about, decide on, or do for the Christmas season. Decide on gifts for kids, Buy gifts for kids, Put up the tree, Decide where your family’s bodies will actually be on Christmas morning. You get the idea. Nothing is off limits. Everything goes on the list.
Name What Matters
The Lazy Genius is a genius and one of her principles is Name What Matters. After you have gotten everything down on paper, look at the list and decide what is actually necessary for your Christmas to feel like Christmas. What things light you and your family up? What needs to absolutely happen in December for your Christmas season to be complete? Name What Matters to you and your people.
It gets a little tricky here, because you might say that everything matters. And maybe it does, but what are the priorities, the things that if they didn’t happen, you would turn into a raging Grinch. Star or highlight those things.
Make a Plan
Now it’s time to make a plan with your Christmas Brain Dump. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or extensive, or take a day to make. Simply look at the things on your list and put them on the calendar, delegate to someone, send a text to ask a question, put them on your to-do list. We are at the beginning of November, so we have time, friends.
After I did my Christmas Brain Dump, then named what mattered, I made a to-do list for November and one for December. Some of the things on my list for November: Decide on gifts for each person. Purchase gifts. Decide on calendar items: Durham Museum, my extended family Christmas. Plan 10 meals to rotate for December. Send out Christmas cards. Some things on my list for December: Wrap gifts. Get out/purchase Christmas clothes. Bake cookies. Get out Christmas read alouds.
A plan gets us where we want to go.
Take Action
Remember, it’s November and we have time. Let’s take action on things we can and slowly work our way through things needing done. Getting to Christmas is not a race. No one is winning any awards for crossing things off the Christmas to-do list. Let’s take stock of our capacity at the moment and pace ourselves so we can get to December with wide eyes and open hearts.
Will you do A Christmas Brain Dump?