The final few weeks before the winter holidays can be full of stress. Try a few resilience exercises to calm the storm and get through the end of the year in peace.
Tidings of comfort and joy may be what the popular song calls for, but they can be pretty hard to find during the hectic holiday season. If you fear burnout is creeping in for you or your team, practicing a few resilience techniques can mean the difference between losing your cool and feeling peace on Earth.
1. Breathe and
Break
The end of the year brings with it stressors that no other time of year seems to: at work there is often budgeting, fitting in last-minute meetings, and strategic planning for the next year. At home there is frantic shopping, too much baking, and a whirlwind of parties you are expected to make room for in the busy calendar.
Teachers have known for
years that the weeks leading up to the holidays are the exact wrong time to try to cram in
last-minute work. Take a cue from their
playbook and schedule your day with fewer tasks and more breaks, getting done
the very most important things and letting the others slide. Find time to stop and take deep breaths in
the middle of the chaos. The pile in
your inbox will still be there the first week in January.
2. Set Realistic Expectations
We all have a rosy picture of how the holiday season is supposed to go. When it doesn’t meet our expectations, we’re filled with frustration. But that frustration is of our own making, so being realistic on the front end can curb that freak-out feeling on the back end.
No, your toddler twins might not sit still for a greeting card picture, so don’t expect them to. Your grandmother’s holiday roast recipe might not turn out as juicy. And your extended family might squabble from the stress of sharing one bathroom.
The holidays exempt us from the real-life frustrations of the other 11 months of the year. Setting realistic expectations ahead of time means we won’t be so disappointed when life turns out to be, well… life.
3. Make Time For
the Truly Important Things, And Ditch the Should-Be-Important Things
Along with setting realistic expectations, the holidays can also cause us to think we have to celebrate in a certain way. Maybe because family tradition dictates it. Maybe because we saw a beautiful layout in a magazine.
There are only so many hours in the holiday season. Trying to incorporate every single possible activity or tradition into a few short weeks isn’t enjoyable, it’s stressful. So if you have been trying to make Family Ice Hockey Day, or Neighborhood Cookie Decorating happen, and it just isn’t catching hold, that is okay.
Sit down and make a list of the things that are the most important to you and your loved ones, and prioritize those things. By making space for them, instead of cramming the holidays full, you will actually be able to enjoy them more.
4. Seek
Moderation
For years doctors have been telling us that we can’t “catch up” on sleep. The best thing to do is go to sleep and wake up at about the same times every day. The same philosophy holds true for holiday indulgences.
Whether your holiday indulgence is food, wine, shopping, sports, sleeping, or anything else, don’t think of the holidays as an excuse for a free-for-all. Having a “feast or famine” type attitude to indulgences means you’ll only rebound harder when the celebratory season is over.
Instead, get enough
enjoyment out of your indulgence all year ‘round, so that the holidays are only
slightly more indulgent than normal. If
you gorge on whatever you enjoy now, you’ll only feel the loss more acutely
when January comes, and the bleak winter months need all the enjoyment they can
get. So don’t “pig out” in December
thinking you can stop cold turkey in January. That kind of punishment doesn’t do your psyche any favors. A little here and a little there will bring
you a whole year of happiness.
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By the end of the year, most of us are running on an empty gas tank. But these four techniques for powering through December will have you avoiding burnout and feeling like celebrating by the time you ring in the New Year.
