If you’re like me right now, the holiday retail season is already off and running and your work load just got that much heavier. But no matter how busy things seem now, your work is only going to increase as we get closer to the holidays so take some time out and do these simple things to make the busy season a little less stressful.

  • Restock. How are we doing on bubble wrap? Tape? Priority Mail boxes? Shipping labels? Package inserts? Once the holiday season gets started in earnest, supplies tend to disappear at a much faster rate so restock now before you find yourself in a desperate situation. Also, keep in mind that your suppliers are going to be just as busy during the holidays so ordering early can ensure that you get your orders faster than if you delay.
  • Reorganize. Take some time out of your already busy schedule and make sure everything is organized efficiently. With the crazy barrage of work, you aren’t going to want to spare the time looking for things that were put back in the wrong place or dealing with that mess you “never got around” to organizing. Take a moment to get everything together now before things are too busy so that the really busy time will be less stressful. This also helps you ensure you aren’t forgetting to list that big ticket item you were saving to sell around the holidays.
  • Reminders. While things are a little calmer now, take the opportunity to schedule some reminders for both yourself or your buyers. I like to take the early days of November to schedule all of the marketing blog posts that will appear on our company blog throughout the month reminding people of shipping deadlines and last minute deals so they will post automatically without my having to remember to do that. It’s also a good idea to set reminders for yourself such as “Today’s the last day to ship Priority Mail” or “Mail holiday cards to customers no later than today!” Whether you use Google Calendar, Outlook or your cell phone reminder feature, taking a hour or two to remind yourself in advance of the important details for the rest of the season, can save you a lot of time and aggravation later. Time can really get away from us when we are busy so get a hold of it now while things are a bit calmer.

What are you doing to prepare for the holidays? Please share your advice below.