How to Plan a Stress-Free Thanksgiving with Your Planner

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and If you're feeling grateful and stressed at the same time, you're not alone. Studies show that up to 69% of people are stressed by the feeling of having a lack of time during the holidays.

It makes sense. With just days to plan for a giant feast or Thanksgiving travel, there's no time to waste. Instead of leaving the holidays up to chance, reach for your Daily Planner to stay productive and maximize your time.

Use Meal Planning Features

Thanksgiving is all about friends, family, and food. Put your meal planning section to good use, complete with when you need to shop and cook. List all of your ingredients, and remember to add some back-ups. For example, what can you throw together on the fly if you run out of a side dish or other item? Salad kits, pre-made pumpkin bread, and easy-to-prepare veggies like Brussel sprouts are all convenient go-to's.

Don't forget you can also meal plan your way through leftovers. Plan for a "whatever goes" day where everything gets eaten at will and another day for a turkey casserole or tetrazzini. 

Store Your Receipts

Our Daily Planners come with a handy interior front pocket to store important papers and receipts. Make sure to tuck away your food or travel receipts to reconcile your credit card or bank statements later. Knowing what you spent can also help you divvy up costs if you're co-hosting a holiday meal and plan a budget for next year. 

Batch Your Time

Time batching, or task batching, helps you group similar activities together. The results can be impressive. Studies show that switching between tasks costs up to 40% of productivity time. When you focus on the same type of work, you can usually work for a longer stretch of time. Instead of switching your focus and fragmenting your time, batching tasks help wrap everything up in a fraction of the time. 

Add Daily Reminders

The holidays have a way of flying by, especially when you're planning travel or a big turkey dinner. Use your planner to add daily reminders for what you need to do next. There's no need to get overwhelmed by everything you need to do in a single week. Instead, focus on one thing at a time and work through your reminders and task list. 

Block Off Time for Clean-Up 

The holiday meal or all-day travel is finally over, but now what? There's still tons left to do with clean-up and putting everything away. Depending on who else is on hand to help, you'll probably need an hour or two to clean up and put away leftovers thoroughly. If you've been traveling, you'll need time to do laundry or get back to your accommodations. 

Track Your Fitness Goals

Don't let the holidays derail your fitness goals. Stay on top of them by adding them to your Daily Planner. However, plan to leave yourself some flexibility. With so much family togetherness and food on the table, you're allowed to scale back and resume your usual routine once the holiday frenzy is over.

Focus on the Holiday Overview Section

Our planners come with an innovative Holiday Overview section dedicated to Thanksgiving and beyond. It's the perfect place to separate your tasks and big-picture goals for the week. 

Schedule Time to Relax

Once the holidays wind down, it's time to relax. Take it seriously by scheduling the time to do it. Otherwise, you'll let the time slide by with family distractions and more cleaning. Make the time count by planning a drink with friends, watching a movie, or crawling into bed with your favorite book and a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door.

Next Steps

Reclaim the holidays and make the most of your time while still making time for family, friends, and relaxation. Ready to choose a planner for yourself? Shop our Paper & Plan Co. collection now to organize your treasured events the way they deserve.