Beat Holiday Overwhelm
The holidaze are here again! Daze is craze, y’all. Let’s manage that overwhelm and bring back some joy! Over the years, I’ve developed a system for 5 steps to beat holiday overwhelm.
Are you like me – super excited, yet super overwhelmed at the thought of the marathon between Halloween and the New Year? There is a lot to achieve in the next two months: Supermom, Superspouse, Superguest, Superhost, Superdecorator, Superbaker, Supercrafter, Superaudience (for the bajillion performances your children are in) …and the list goes on and on.
I struggle with this list each year. I know I cannot achieve it all, and if I try, I turn into Supermomster and NOBODY wants that girl coming to the party.
What’s a gal to do? I need a plan.
The best defense is a good offense.
Here are 5 steps to beat holiday overwhelm with clarity and contentment.
- Start with the end in mind.
- Realize less is more.
- Prioritize the priorities.
- Order them: first things first.
- Recognize that freedom only truly exists within boundaries.
Voila! Now you can make a plan.
Start with the end in mind.
Go ahead, pull out last year’s calendar and the years before that. The IRS wants you to keep 3 years of tax returns and in this case, I agree with the IRS as it pertains to how long to keep records.
If you don’t have a collection yet, start this year. As you move through the holiday season, keep notes in your calendar. I actually write my wins and losses during the entire year into my calendar. It helps me to remember to re-visit that super fun pumpkin patch or to only say yes to X number of holiday parties. I review my calendars and strategize 4 times throughout the year.
If you have any calendars from past years, review them now. Write down the wins, notate the areas of overwhelm. Channel your inner Ebenezer Scrooge and re-visit the holidays of years past in order to plan for the present season and take notes for the ghost of the future holidays.
It’s really that simple.
- Revisit the past.
- Log the pros and cons.
- Make a list of the items that re-occur.
Take notes this season on your calendar, knowing you can review next year and thank your past self for the reminder of how terrible it was deciding to make the pie crust from scratch!
Realize less is more.
Read your list of pros and cons and items that re-occur. Analyze the overlap of items on the reoccurring list against the pros and cons, notate these observations. Acknowledge that the holidays will work much better if you have less to go to, less to prepare and more time to devote to what brings joy.
Make a goal. What is the singular outcome you want for this season this year? Is it a word? A specific outcome? An environment? Focus on the goal and write it down.
Homeschooling? Many families choose to not school in December or cut their school time in half. This time between Thanksgiving and the New Year is a wonderful time to continue to learn and educate, but in a different way.
Instead of school, these families choose to read all the holiday books, bake and craft more during this time, intentionally resting from their curriculum during December. Other families focus on swapping their usual schooling hours to giving back in some way to their community. There are many ways to continue learning during this time by resting from the educational routine. If this appeals to you, write it down as a goal.
Prioritize the priorities.
Goals don’t happen by themselves. They need actionable steps to take to achieve them. Ask yourself what are the outcomes and non-negotiables that establish the traditions and culture you want for your family and for your kids to associate with during the holiday season?
Remember, you are modeling for your children what they will associate with the holidays. Does your family’s current holiday season routine reflect the memories you want remembered?
- No? Then keep reading and come up with an offensive plan this year.
- Yes? Great, you’re on the right track already and there is always room for improvement. Are you enjoying the holidays as much as your family? No? There’s your area to direct your focus.
I start with our traditions. I write down the list of traditions – tradition is a loaded word. Let me interrupt myself here for a minute and grab my soapbox.
Soap Box
Soap Box Alert !
Stepping off soapbox now…Write your traditions and review them, edit and remove traditions that don’t accomplish your objective for the season.
Run the same process with parties, performances, advent goals, craft projects, decorating tasks and hosting duties. Review and edit the list to items that align with your goal.
Order them: first things first.
There is roughly one month between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Obviously, there is just not time to do everything. Why are we in denial about this? Talking to myself here.
Since there isn’t time for everything, schedule into your calendar the top one to three things in each of your priority categories. These are now appointments. Make sure the timing allotted is realistic, things always take longer than you think!
Protect those items when conflicting events begin to present themselves. These are what truly matter to you and your family to accomplish the goal you’ve set. Fill in the other edited priorities in a different color or font to know that these can shift or be removed if an opportunity arises that aligns more with your goals.
Be sure to have scheduled down time and rest days on the calendar as an item too – as crazy as it sounds, plan for one a week. This is the margin where spontaneity occurs because there is room for it. Keep some evenings free each week for the same reason. Write them down on the calendar though or that open time will never materialize.
Freedom in boundaries.
Look at your calendar. Review and edit against your goal one last time. Remember that less is more and be aggressive with that red pen or eraser.
Now, sit back and smile. You have an actionable plan: 5 steps to beat holiday overwhelm.
You have built a structure and framework for success this holiday. This framework or holiday rhythm gives you an actionable plan to assist in decision fatigue and it is aligned with your priorities. Use this as your guide in the upcoming weeks. Know that life and Old Man Murphy will come along and smash up some of it. Expect the unexpected and smile, if you have margin scheduled in, you can weather the unexpected and resurrect from the ashes a better opportunity or a key learning to notate for next year.
Bonus Holiday Time Saver – click here for a list of toys to shop for the kids in your life – these are educational and ageless, fun for you and them.
