Don’t look now. It’s December.
Lots of us love the holidays, but many of us also stress when the holidays are on the snowy horizon. Sometimes, that stress is a result of the full-throttle nature of the holidays. Other times, we bring it on ourselves through a few simple mistakes.
It’s true in business as it’s true in life as it’s true in the holidays:
1. Fail to plan = Plan to fail.
We have simply too many extra things to tack on during the holidays. Make your own list: family. travel. children out of school. gifts. decorating. hosting parties. attending parties. cooking. cleaning. being a good host. being a good guest. You name it, you’re charged with doing it. This year, plan on which parties you’re going to attend. Plan when you’re going to bang out that holiday shopping. Plan when you’re going to travel. Do all of that planning with priority! You may not be able to answer every holiday party request. Choose the ones that are the most important, and make sure you give them the attention they need. Be polite and respectful in declining the ones you can’t attend.
2. Take care of your body. You only get one.
A big part of planning and prioritizing your schedule is making time for yourself. Do you have a day planner, or an application that you use for your time management? If not, you’re more likely to be reacting to every single thing as it hits your inbox or you answer the phone. You can’t give it priority if you’re reacting in a whiplash manner. Block things off on your calendar, and include time for you. Indulge in something that’s going to bring you back to center. Maybe that’s a book and a calming green tea. Maybe it’s hitting the gym. Whatever it is, make sure you make it important, and those in your life are respectful of that time.
3. Simplify.
Picturing the perfect party is easy, but when you realize how much time and effort each of those details takes, you may become overwhelmed. Take a string of Christmas lights on the tree as an example. In your mind, stringing those lights is as simple as three rotations around the tree. In reality, that may mean five minutes untangling the lights, five minutes putting the lights on the tree, and then an hour while you test which one of those little tiny bulbs is broken, causing half the lights to remain dark. When that vision includes decorating the house, the trees outside, the porch, the indoor Christmas tree, two other rooms of the house in case the guests bring children, etc., etc., decorating could literally take an entire day. Keep it simple. The days fly by too quickly during the holidays anyway.
4. I’m a sucker for holiday music. You should try it.
Find the songs that inspire you, not the ones you’ve grown tired of. There is a very special connection that some of us have to particular songs during the holidays. As a musician, I already believe that music should be part of our lives every day. If the holidays are a time that mean something special to us, we should have music we love to reflect that. Weed out the tunes that make you want to punch a reindeer, and gravitate to those that make you smile as soon as you hear the opening chords. We all have them. You just have to remind yourselves which ones you love.
Finally, no number here…Make lasting memories.
When your child or children rush in to wake you up on Christmas morning, remember their excitement. (When they’re 30 and demanding coffee before even looking at presents, you’ll wish for a time machine.) Maybe take a camera or flip cam with you. Remember that car commercial with the kid losing his mind on Christmas morning? Do you remember that Christmas morning of your childhood? The one special thing that you couldn’t believe Santa brought you? Capture that! It’s more important than any generational holiday tradition that you endure because the family has always done it.
Holiday time can be hectic. Focus on what is important. Give priority to the things that make you and your family the happiest. As Dr. Myron Wentz would say, “Love life, and live it to its fullest.” I say the same thing about this holiday season. Love it, and make the memories that will make you smile for years to come.
One Love,
nK
Yes, Nick, that does help! Thanks!