Mini Missions Mindset

If I asked you to do a brain dump right now, your list of Christmas preparations and thoughts about gifts would probably fill a page. (Trust me, I know, I've started this process already in order to write these planning posts for you!) That is when the feelings of overwhelm and stress might start creeping in. Our goal for this year and hopefully years to come, is to reduce the stress of Christmas by planning and working ahead!

The key to getting that page of task done by Christmas is mini missions. Mini missions help break down large projects (yes, Christmas preparing is a project) into smaller tasks that can help to achieve the final stage of the project.

Specifically, a mini mission is a short task or two that can be completed in 15 or 20 minutes. If it is a longer task, you are simply going to set aside 15 or 20 minutes to do part of the task. Now it's true there are some things that take far longer than 20 minutes, such as batch baking or cooking. We can't call those or include them in our mini mission planning.

Want some examples of mini missions?

• Call to schedule a photography session
• Address 10 Christmas cards
• Wrap two gifts
• Clean the microwave
• Wipe down the front of the appliances
• Pick up stamps and boxes on the way home from work

I could go on and on listing mini missions! Those will come up in the coming weeks and help you think of ideas you can apply to your own planning. If we can focus on using small amounts of time to our advantage, we can accomplish so much!

The most important questions when looking at a large task or list is: "Can I break this task down into several mini missions?"

You can plan out mini missions on the calendar, or simply glance at that large brain dump and pick something! After days and weeks of several mini mission sessions you are going to be amazed at how many things on your list are complete and how easy it was to get that far in your Christmas planning!

I'm secretly excited about giving this small snippet of time a name. Mini missions. Not sure if it is original, but it fits and feels motivational. Come back tomorrow, and I tell you more about making a mini missions list!