The holiday season is a busy time of year. So many activities are packed into a relatively short period, and it is easy to become a tad overwhelmed by it all. Once Black Friday arrives on November 27 (or Thanksgiving evening for those who cannot wait until Friday), holiday shoppers have less than a month to get all of their shopping done.
Planning, decorating, entertaining, and socializing takes time away from shopping. To find the time to get everything done especially shopping consider these time management tips and tricks.
Shop during off-peak hours. The busiest times of the day for holiday shopping will be lunch hour during a business day and right before or after suppertime. Wading through crowds can be time-consuming. Try to shop when the stores are more sparsely populated so you can get in and out faster.
Shop local. Think about patronizing small, independent retailers. Not only will you enjoy customized, exemplary customer service, but also the stores probably will not be able to fit as many customers as large chains. That means you can browse more readily and shop faster and more safely.
Schedule online shopping blocks. Pepper your calendar with blocks of time devoted to online shopping. This way you can handle it without distraction and easily check people off your list.
Delegate some tasks. Pool your resources with friends or family members and divide your shopping lists. Each person can be in charge of a different category of shopping. For example, if you are in charge of gaming gifts buy all of these and then distribute them to whoever needed them. Delegating saves time and lets shoppers avoid rushing from store to store.
Take a day off. While it may not be ideal to use vacation time for holiday shopping, sometimes it can be an effective way to check off a good portion of your list. Start in the early morning when the children are at school and visit as many stores as possible. Stow away those gifts until you have the opportunity to wrap them. Make the day off a little more special by treating yourself to a solo lunch or a midday meal with a friend.
The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year. Finding the time to finish shopping and complete other tasks is challenging, but possible.
