Working this week but I don't have time for it

[fondoutcheese]

I have so much to do to prepare for Christmas next week. I just don't have time for work. I'm FT and cant afford to take any time off.

I am WAH today, just sitting staring ay my PC looking at all the things around me that need doing. They are within arms reach ... but I cannot get to them due to work. Sigh.

Same! Worse that my work is unusually quiet this week so I feel like I'm wasting time that could be better spent. But I don't have enough annual leave to take more time off.

same! Luckily had 3 wfh days so got a bit done. How about you make a list? Would that help?
can anything be squeezed into work time?

yup .. my work is also fairly quiet. I could be making SO much better use of my time doing other things.

I cannot even get started on any work today

May not be helpful, but we are moving house tomorrow, what doesn't get done doesn't get done. Simple as

In your position, unless I knew I was being checked in on a lot, I'd take some time to do some Christmas stuff to make mental space to do work stuff. Do you have any missed meetings to watch on recording or training videos you could watch while doing some of your Xmas prep? Might feel less guilty that way!

What do you have left to do? If it’s ordering presents or food, just do it online after you finish work. If it’s wrapping you’ve still got loads of time.

What do you need to do?

Spare a thought for those who will be working extra hard in the run up to Christmas and over christmas. I work in a vets where animals eat stupid things, owners have put off bringing their pet in until Christmas Eve even though their animal hasn’t eaten for a week, by which point the animals are really poorly, the referral hospitals are full and the labs are all shut and no one remembered to order their medications and will run out on Christmas Day. I’ll be cleaning my house at midnight on Monday as family are arriving to stay on Tuesday while I’m at work. You just have to do what you can do and not sweat the small stuff, enjoy the days off you do get and not martyr yourself over excessive Christmas effort, it will be nice whatever you do.

There’s no wonder bosses want people back in the office if people who are working from home are getting paid to do their bloody Christmas prep 🙄.

A recky of gifts to see what I have and still need to get for DC. I need to haul everything out from it's hiding place
online shopping for other family and relatives
online shopping for a relative as they are too poorly to do their own shopping, then I need to drop the gifts to them, wrapped
all the wrapping and card writing
finish decorating the tree
update my online food shop and decide what I need to get food wise as we are hosting for 12

non Christmas:
lots of admin for SEN DC for the LA - forms to complete, emails to read and reply to, decisions to be made
take DC for a haircut
book my own hair appointment
paint my nails for christmas party

.. plus the usual of run the house, feed DC, washing, school runs etc

This is DH's most busiest time at work and he is full on workwise and stressed to the max. I am senior at work with several teams working to me.

Surely at this point you won’t get an appointment for your hair before Christmas.

Does it make a difference if you get the forms in now or after Christmas? What are they? I know ECHP panel in our area doesn’t sit again until Jan.

You need to work put what is the most important and DH is gping to need to step up and do some stuff.

Next year, look at something like TOMM Christmas planning. It’s a game change.

Right? "I don't have time to work"... I hope your employer reads this. Either you work or you take time off, people should stop taking the piss. I see this with my colleagues as well, no one is in the office this week, and half of them can't be reached (all women btw).

From your list, what can you delegate? And what is most urgent? Try breaking the tasks up across each day so it feels more manageable and make a note of the days/tasks in your phone.

• Can other relatives help with the poorly relatives shopping?
• Get the presents out late one night or during your lunchbreak, it won't take as long as you think to note down and put it back. Do it today and cross it off the list.
• Wrapping and card writing can be done one evening with a nice big glass of wine. Make an event of it. Are cards even needed? People won't mind.
• Finishing the tree is a quick task.
• Are haircuts desperately needed or can they wait?
• Get DH to help with the housework. You're both busy, he can get stuck in.
• Sit down together one evening and get the food shop finalised (with another big glass of wine).

Christmas will happen regardless and by the end of next week it's all over! It's not worth feeling stressed over.

Which is exactly why I do not allow any of our staff to WFH

Thank F you do not work for me

Sounds like you're paralysed by the overwhelm, OP. I get like this, too. I find making a list of small, manageable tasks helps me. Have a cup of tea/coffee (whatever) and make up your list along the lines of:

*Two hours of work (or one or two projects)

• ten minutes to do a basic task. *two hours of work *lunch break- 30 mins to eat and 30 mins of tasks *Repeat

The basic tasks can be anything, mine often include:
*unloading dishwasher/reloading
*putting away 20 items of washing
*wrapping two presents (or however many you can get done in your time frame)
*tidy dash - getting as much done as I can in the 10 minute window
*online shopping

Obviously, you can set the times frames to suit yourself. It's the not knowing where to start that messes me up. I work best under pressure, so the timeframes and list makes me work more efficiently and helps stop my brain from wandering.

There is no need to get your nails done and could haircuts wait until after Christmas?
Wrapping can be done in a few minutes if you order a stash of gift bags (the ones for your children and immediate family can be reused next year.) Get some sheets of printer labels, print your messages and stick onto gift tags. Can the children finish the tree for you?

Really! You’re at work getting paid to do a job, during working hours.

You can’t be that busy if you’re sitting staring at your computer screen and not working. Did you not have annual leave you could take?

Same op, have today and Friday off before Christmas Day and have had to bring the cat and my son to an appointment. Nothing is done!!!

This logic always makes me laugh.

Boss: "WFH'ers don't work."

An older-timer at the company: "You think people do work when they're in the office or something?"

Well thank F I don't celebrate Christmas! 😅

I'm guessing you've tried stuff like the pomodoro method but if not i find them useful at times when I'm struggling to focus.

To be fair I'm in the office and doing some Christmas shopping so it doesn't really make much difference 😉

As others have said, my work (and industry) is ridiculously quiet in the run up to Christmas so barely anything to do.

@fondoutcheesei feel your pain I’m only off 22nd&23rd and I just don’t have time to work and get organised.
I need to double check I’ve got everything for everyone. Nothing is wrapped and I’ve not really got a lot of time to get things finished off and delivered out. I’ve no idea when I’m going food shopping or actually cooking anything (I work shifts and no WFH) my housework needs done and my washing pile seems to have grown overnight.
I only got 2hrs sleep last night stressing myself out! I considered a sickie just to get stuff done but dragged myself into work. I’m going to be busy when I get finished tonight!