Tips for staying sane and happy during the holidays
Guest Commentary:
Well it is official. The holiday season is here and it begins with Thanksgiving and Black Friday and moves into Cyber Monday, sending holiday cards, buying gifts and the list goes on and on. As we move into December you may have more holiday parties and family get-togethers to attend as well. All of these extra events and tasks can add a lot of stress to your day and cause sleepless nights. How can we continue to move forward with everything we have to do and feel our best when it seems like a never-ending pile of stuff. I am not going to sugar-coat it. Life can be tough and hard to juggle at times. Let’s accept that and move forward with a plan of action. Here are some things that help me stay on task and motivated when I am feeling overwhelmed.
Sleep. It is one huge factor in how well my day is going to go. If I get my seven to eight hours I am a happy camper and my day seems to go by without any major hiccups. Even if there might be struggles, my ability to manage the stress and chaos of the day does not seem to overwhelm. I deal with it and move on. On days that I have six hours or less, watch out, I may explode. OK, maybe not the dramatic, but little things seem to really get to me, even though I know they are not a big deal and life will be fine. Getting plenty of sleep at night is an important time for your body to recover from the day’s activities and reset your mind for the next day. Get those Zs and you might start feeling better.
Activity. When my schedule becomes crammed with things to do sometimes I forget about my workout. I get all caught up in everything else that I end up coming dead last. This is terrible because without me, none of these things would be completed. I prioritize my list of things to do and physical activity happens to be number one or two. I schedule it earlier in my day to complete it and get it out of the way or maybe I sign up for a class or plan a workout date with a friend. I feel so much better knowing that it is done and I can move forward and not have a lingering thought in the back of my mind.
Write it down. Keeping a journal is something that I enjoy doing for many reasons, but I like to visually be able to see what needs to be done. It flows out of my head and onto paper therefore it does not float around in my head all day disrupting me. On the list I like to give each task a deadline of when it absolutely must be completed and I stick to it. It feels good to check it off once complete, too.
Learning to say no. This is a very hard thing for me. I want to help out, contribute, and attend functions that I am invited to in order to support my friends, colleagues, or the community. I find that I am always saying “yes, I will do this,” or “yes, I will attend that,” and then I feel like I am being pulled in too many directions. Sometimes you need to say no and saying no does not mean that you do not care it means that you have another higher priority task that needs your attention. I have learned that saying no is OK and at times makes me feel better even though it is hard to do. You are not always going to be able to be there for everything or do everything and accepting that is important.
Above all commit to placing yourself higher on your priority list. Take the time to care for yourself first and then take care of those closest to you. As my mom says: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
Liz Whalen is a personal trainer and health fitness specialist who lives and works in Libby. She also blogs at lizwhalenhfs.com.