5 Steps to Keeping Your Sanity During the Holidays

The holidays can be a hectic time. Managing your calendar will be essential to maintaining your sanity.  It all starts by looking at your calendar. Seriously. Evaluate what you want and make these things your priority. Be realistic about your time and demands. Check out the steps below for details on how to manage your time this season so you can enjoy yourself.  

Steps to Maintaining Your Sanity During the Holidays. 
STEP 1: Sit down and look over the next few months. List out all of the upcoming events and all of the things you want to do or think you “should” do. Recitals, holiday parties (don’t forget work and school), family gatherings, trips, traditions, events, etc. Do a quick assessment to see what your expectations are. Are they realistic?  

STEP 2: Decide what you REALLY want and need to do this season. Talk with your family about what traditions they actually care about. Cross anything off that isn’t something you must do or love to do. This was a tip I learned from Flylady.net- she has an awesome Holiday Control journal, you can get it HERE. My family really loved having input in the holiday plans. We discovered so many things that were on the to-do list that no one really cared about doing. It was truly freeing to only do the things we loved.  

STEP 3: Schedule time to get ready. In addition to adding all of the events you’ve decided to keep to the calendar- plan for all the things you need to do to get ready for them. Be sure to include

• ​shopping for special outfits
  
• baking
  
• shopping for gifts
  
• wrapping presents
  
• cleaning before events
  

STEP 4: Next, schedule in downtime. Included exercise/loving movement, and other self-care such as massages, acupuncture, etc. Basic self-care must be non-negotiable. Especially during this packed and stressful season. Trust me, you will enjoy yourself so much more.
 
STEP 5: Celebrate! Letting go of all of the shoulds, creating space in your schedule, and taking care of yourself are all keys to being present and enjoying the festivities.

During the busy holiday season, keeping stress to a manageable level by having more realistic expectations of yourself and recognizing that your sanity needs to be a priority can be a game changer. I hope this quick guide has inspired you to simplify, take care of yourself and commit to actually enjoying yourself. If you would like some ideas on how to navigate food during Holidays- check out my blog post Five Ways to Stay on Track This Holiday Season. 

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