93 is the exact amount of days that we have left until 2015. That beginning number of 365 sure did fly by fast, didn’t it?

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Out of time? Rushed? Unorganized? Anxious?

If you do, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. For Scarlet, 2014 has been an absolute flash. Things have went great and other things have absolutely went left.

If you’re with the majority of us, feeling like you just need a bit more time to get it all in, I have some bad news…you won’t get it. You are really stuck with only 93 days left this year to conquer your 2014 to-do’s.

Now following that bad news, let me enlighten you with some good news. Instead of ho-humming your way through the next 93 days, how about maximizing what you have to get what you need accomplished?

And as an added bonus, I’ll even tell you how to do it. As you prepare to wrap up the year, utilizing these simple “Scarlet etiquette hacks”, will help you maximize your time, positively invest in your relationships and end the year feeling like you started – hopeful, driven and focused!

1. Start Your Holiday Card Process Now: It seems to never fail. Every year right around December you start getting that horrible feeling in your gut that reminds you that you haven’t even started writing out your season’s greetings or holiday cards for the year. This time, just start now. Why not at least start putting the list together of the people and organizations that you intend to send out cards to? Believe me. Starting now will save you a lot of headaches later.

2. Make Small Daily to do Lists: Do you make lengthy to-do lists knowing that there’s no way that you can tackle 25 tasks in one day? Well, let’s turn a new leaf today! Instead of making unrealistic task lists, try limiting your daily list to five items or less. I’ve found that it is much easier to do 5 tasks impeccably versus trying to do 25 tasks at your less than best capacity and then feeling bad about not completing the list. Give yourself some slack. Put together a reasonable list that you can accomplish and feel good about.

3. Get Off The Holiday Party Merry Go Round: Very soon, the end of year holiday party invites are going to start rolling in. While everybody wants to be invited to fantastic end of year parties, be honest with which ones you should and should not attend. If you know you’re going to find yourself only being able to spend 20 minutes at each party, consider reconsidering. Just face the facts that you are only one person and that it’s best to prioritize which parties you actually should attend and more importantly which ones are value-add to you personally?

4. Revisit Your Goals For 2014: You actually may have accomplished a lot more than you think you have. When is the last time you visited your goals for 2014? While you may be sulking your days away, being hard on yourself and thinking that you’ve accomplished nothing, perhaps you are much further along than you really thought.

5. Take a Social Media Sabbatical: Have you ever found yourself scrolling through your various social networking pages and beginning to feel guilty about yourself, your accomplishments and what you think you should have accomplished by now? This feeling of void and skepticism about your accomplishments happens all the time. It is a direct result of subconsciously or even consciously comparing yourself to people and individuals who are posting on their own social networking pages. Let’s face it, who can really validate if what others post is true? And, think about how much time you actually waste scrolling and running across the same information that you saw the last time you scrolled? Make an honest effort to take breaks from social media and even take a small sabbatical for a little while if you find yourself on there much too much.

Scarlet Says: For the next 93 days, let’s commit to using what we actually have to get what it is that we need. 93 days really is a lot of time to get a lot of stuff done. Even if you have fallen down, fallen off track or life has thrown you some curve balls this year, you can still recoup. You are still here and you still have a seat at the table. So, let’s make the best of what we have left and rock out for the rest of the year. After all, faking it til’ you make it is just a temporary fix and not a long term solution…

Until Next Time,
Scarlet