We all do it…..fill up our plate with extra things to do between Thanksgiving and New Year. There is a long list of fun things that come up on the calendar, as well as honoring our traditions, commitments and gift buying and giving. We bake, we shop, we wrap and we often do some version of sending out cards. We may even throw a party. Some of us double up on these holiday activities if we are also covering our business or workplace with some holiday cheer.
Often, we arrive at the New Year breathless and ready for life to feel ordinary again as we fly into the final stretch hardly enjoying the peace of the winter solstice as a time of going inwards to reflect on the year behind us as we intend what we want in the year ahead of us. Making time for “me time” is critical to maintain your health and sanity.
What if you could do it differently this year? Less stress and overwhelm with more fulfillment and fun. This is what you can put on your list for Santa! Your opportunity to do it differently is to create more space to fit in the extra things that are part of your holiday tradition. You don’t need permission to change up your traditions. If you do need permission to let go of the “should do list” I’m offering it to you now.
Here are some ideas to create more space so you can flow and not push your way through the season. Pushing will make your giving feel resentful and not joyful.
Start with making a list of all the extra things that are coming up before the end of the year. Be realistic when you prioritize your time and energy so you don’t get run down from burning the candle at both ends. Remember, you were already busy before the holidays hit.
- Prioritize the things you love to do that are energizing. These are the things that you “want to do” that make your heart happy.
- Honor the commitments that you do each year as part of your tradition that you really don’t enjoy doing. These might be the things that you feel you “should do”
- Find a new way to do them to make them more fun. Put on holiday music while you work on it.
- Enlist support to share the task with others so you’re not doing it all yourself. Baking and wrapping as a group effort makes less time.
- Wrap your gifts using gift bags and not rolls of paper and tape; easy-peasy
- Stop doing the extra time-takers that don’t add to your holiday joy
- Balance Holiday giving with Holiday receiving by asking for help and saying yes to others who offer you some help. Remove “No, thanks, I’ve got this” out of your vocabulary! Saying yes to others provides them the opportunity to give to you and feel appreciated. Remember this wisdom; “It’s never too late to delegate!”
- Break down your to-do list into smaller realistic steps and draw out a timeline to spread tasks to fit into windows of time rather than thinking you need a bigger time frame to get your project done. This is especially helpful if you are stuck in procrastination.
- Ask yourself seriously, is it time to let this tradition go so you can create more space in your season.
- Finally, the gift of presence is the best present of all, prioritize your time to really enjoy or touch those who you cherish the most!
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