Life Balance – Keeping Your Cool During the Busy Holiday Season
ByIf this season is supposed to be about peace and love, why is it that the hectic pace of life at this time of the year often leaves us feeling anything but peaceful and loving?
Balancing all the relationships in our lives, keeping our cool about our work life, trying to retain harmony within our over-scheduled days, refraining from getting caught up in the frenzy of all our blinking electronic devices that seem to make demands on us — these combine to create a substantial challenge in our everyday lives. And then add in all the increased holiday demands…
So how do we cope, and prevent ourselves from getting the stressed-out, burned-out holiday blues? Here are some suggestions:
• Put your main focus on the “big important stuff” meaning spending time with family and friends. This lovely up-close-and-personal time is so key, because isn’t love and caring an essential element of the season? So be sure to spend peaceful, unhurried time with those you love. Having fun and sharing heartfelt celebration with your circle of family and friends should be the priority on the list!
• Calendar everything! This time management skill is extra important as your calendar gets busier and fuller. Write it all down, and if you need to, add those alarm reminders on your internet calendar or smartphone for those things you may tend to forget. Those little alerts can be quite helpful!
• Make efficient to-do lists. Some people love these and some hate them. But the bottom line is keeping everything jumbled in your head can be quite difficult. So be sure to spend just a little time each day (or the night before) prioritizing and itemizing your daily tasks. If you know it is written down, even if it is nowhere near to being done, you at least have a sense of being organized about it and know that it will not slip through the cracks of your memory.
• Delegate as much as possible. Anytime a spouse, partner, child, parent, relative or friend can assume the responsibility of a certain task, let them. No need to be a holiday superhero and do everything yourself.
• Run errands that are in close geographical proximity. Try to divide your time up well and group those errands together — this conserves both time and gasoline.
• Focus on the now. Never underestimate the power of living in the moment! When your life is over-full, your thoughts and plans tend to get jumbled, disjointed and distracted. And you feel stressed out. By reigning in your focus and being truly present, you will feel more joyful with a greater sense of serenity and fulfillment.
• Practice authentic gratitude. If you have let this slip by, now is as good a time as any to bring this to the forefront. Consciously strive to be in appreciation of the many blessings that surround you — and verbalize your feelings to others. Aside from the obvious – showing gratitude to those close to you, go the extra mile and practice some random gratitude. (for instance, give extra praise or appreciation to your hairstylist, the person who holds the door open for you, the pleasant cashier at the supermarket, etc.) The recipients will be happily surprised and radiant. Gratitude will leave you feeling joyful!
• Make time, make time, make time for yourself! (Got the message?) Consistently doing and running and caring for others (such as buying loads of holiday gifts for just about everyone) can be more fatiguing than fun at times. Make sure to take time to nurture yourself — a special lunch or dinner out, a massage (or a Reiki session,) catching up with an old friend, a night out at the movies, or just getting zen with a relaxing meditation — give yourself the gift of something you personally enjoy.
So don’t over-schedule, focus on what’s meaningful — and be sure to have a loving, warm and magical holiday season!
Affirmations:
- I look forward to the holiday season with joyful anticipation and childlike wonder.
- By staying focused on the now moment, I feel happier, more centered and more peaceful.
- I make it a priority to spend fun and loving times with my close family and friends.