First things first

There's no getting around. Christmas is coming, whether you're ready for it or not.

This morning, my office building hosted their annual Thank You breakfast. As testament to our city's multiculturalism, Santa weighed 90 pounds and hailed from Ho Chi Minh City. God, I love this town.

Like you, I have a billion things to do before the holidays.

There seems to be a party every other night and the projects on my plate have really ramped up recently. Plus, I just found out I'm travelling for work again -- which really cuts into my present-buying time.

I know from experience that competitive deadlines can make me a little crazy. While my first instinct is to rush wildly in a million different directions, I really just need to breathe deeply and do one thing at a time.

Focus. Practice mindfulness.

It's not the activity that makes the difference. It's my attitude to the activity.

Ho. Ho. Ommmmm.