The holiday season is fast approaching, with Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holiday season comes with the yearly hustle and bustle of purchasing gifts, baking goodies, traveling, big family dinners, mailing holiday cards, sending gifts, keeping a tidy house, and so much more. A holiday is supposed to be about spending time with family and loved ones but can become a stressful, exhausting, heartbreaking time.Cultivating social ties, forming family traditions, and enjoying yourself is what the holidays are all about. But how do you find the time to do everything without burning yourself out? It’s essential to be present and make time for yourself. The holiday season does not have to become this stressful and draining time. With a few changes, you can turn an exhausting holiday into an enjoyable season with loved ones. Here are five ways to get the utmost enjoyment out of the holiday season and save time:
- Unplug from work
These days you are connected so quickly to work by emails and texts on your phone. It’s essential to desensitize yourself from work during the holidays. Work emails and voicemails will still be there after your break. Now realistically, you can not completely shut off work for the whole holidays, but instead of always being in contact, make a plan. You only check your work emails first thing in the morning and then it is off for the remainder of the day. You do not want to make yourself available all day, every day. Recharging and focusing are important, and to do that you need to get distance from work every. You need a mental relaxation from the office and time with family and friends can give you that refresh you never knew you needed.
- Set Boundaries
It is okay to say no. It’s important to set boundaries, and you do not need to do everything for everyone else all the time. You also do not need to get everything done right then, and now, some duties can wait till later. Make sure to ask yourself, sensibly what can I get done today that isn’t going to overwhelm or put stress on me. If there are items, that someone else might be better at and enjoy more, ask them to make those items for dinner. Delegate and spread out tasks to help yourself save more time.
- Keep Track of Your Time and Schedule
The holiday period is an incredibly busy occasion, and schedules quickly fill up. Keep a calendar for the holidays of events that you do not want to miss, such as a friend’s holiday party, or your company’s party, and then see where you can put in other events. Schedule your time more wisely, if you know you have holiday cookies to bake, why not do baking on an evening when you are watching television anyway. Keep track of events, and a schedule helps you better count for your time, and it helps you not get too overwhelmed with the duties that need to be completed.
- Gift Yourself!
During the holiday season, you are so focused on everything that needs to be done, and sometimes you forget to pamper yourself first. You are busy shopping for gifts and groceries, preparing dinner and baked goods, the house cleaning that you want to be completed before guests arrive
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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