What Santa Can Teach Us About Productivity

Every year Santa delivers presents to all the boys and girls around the world. It’s fair to say he’s a pretty busy guy. In order to keep Christmas magical Santa has to keep his time management skills in check.  And if you’ve ever been delighted with the gift of your choice on Christmas morning…you know he’s good, real good at this!

Here are some ways you can be more like Santa and get more done:

1.  Make a List (and check it twice) – Making a list is easy, getting everything done is the hard part. Make a habit of checking back over your to-do list through out the day to make sure you don’t forget anything.

2.  Little by Little – A big event like Christmas takes a long time to prepare. That’s why Santa spends a whole year working to make all the toys and get all the orders correct. Break up your list into bite-sized chunks to make it more manageable. I’m sure Santa goes by region or alphabetically.

3.  Have a Deadline – Come hell or high water Santa has to get all the toys out by Christmas day or he’s going to have a lot of disappointed kids to deal with. They say, “a goal is a dream with a deadline” and it’s true! You’re far more likely to get something done if you give yourself a finite amount of time to do it in.

4.  Plan Ahead – Once Christmas is over, Santa starts the whole process again. I’m a big believer that it’s never to early to prepare for something. It’s why I start my holiday shopping in August. It never hurts to get a head start on a project and at least write out the steps you need to take to get there.

5.  Reward Yourself — Santa has a nice set up — he brings gifts, he gets cookies.  Everyone knows that you need to leave cookies for Santa.  It’s a nice exchange and a great way for Santa to take a break between houses.  You should take a note and make sure to give yourself a little boost between tasks.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!