Community

10 Ways to Handle Holiday Stress

The holidays certainly come with a lot of joy, but also come with a good deal of stress. We are running around, shopping, cooking, visiting, traveling, wrapping, and tying up loose ends at work. It's no wonder that we are often left feeling a little less than festive.
Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD

Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD

3 Min Read

The holidays certainly come with a lot of joy, but also come with a good deal of stress. We are running around, shopping, cooking, visiting, traveling, wrapping, and tying up loose ends at work. It’s no wonder that we are often left feeling a little less than festive.

So what can we do to decrease our anxiety, and get ourselves back into the holiday spirit? Here are 10 tips that can help you reduce your holiday stress:

  1. Schedule, budget, and minimize. The more organized you are during the holidays, the happier you’ll be. You are adding a lot of new tasks and expenses onto your plate all at once so the more that you schedule, budget, and minimize, the happier you’ll be during the season.
  2. Ensure that you aren’t skipping the gym or any other everyday wellness activities. When we get out of our routine, we tend to miss some of the activities that reduce our stress such as workouts, meditation, and getting outdoors. Staying on track with them becomes even more vital, however, when we become busier. So, keep on hitting that gym until the end of the year!
  3. Pay attention to your diet. One too many a holiday cookie can make you feel sluggish. There are so many temptations when it comes to holiday eating. We are going to a lot more parties and bringing food into our homes that we wouldn’t eat every day. Try not to overindulge to your own detriment.
  4. Have direct conversations about time limitations. If you are unable to do something due to time or budget constraints, don’t feel guility about communicating that directly and empathetically to others.
  5. Decide when enough is enough. You know your limits. If you can’t handle one more party or shopping trip, don’t do it. Try not to overwhelm yourself. You can always get to it later. I promise.
  6. Stay organized. The more on top of things you are by consolidating trips and errands, the more you will be able to conserve your time and energy.
  7. Don’t be a scrooge when it comes to your sleep. During the holidays, it’s tempting to burn the candle at all ends, but try to get the right amount of sleep or you may end up with some coal in your stocking!
  8. Adopt the right mindset. Unfortunately, the holidays can sometimes feel like a chore when we are already so overwhelmed. To combat those feelings, take some time to remember and reflect upon what they are all about. This will help shift your mindset into a more positive one.
  9. Put yourself into the mood. Do what you can to get yourself into the holiday spririt. Watch a Christmas movie, decorate cookies, play holiday music, or send out some cards. Help yourself get into a festive mood by wrapping your arms around the holidays.
  10. Take a step back and reclaim the joy. The holidays are really a special time of year, and if we take a step back, we are better able to reclaim the joy and realize it.

Author(s)

  • Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD

    Author, Corporate Trainer, Business Mentor, Consultant

    Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, LLC

    Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD is business mentor, higher education and writing consultant, corporate trainer (Charlene Walters, MBA, PhD, LLC) and author of Launch Your Inner Entrepreneur (McGraw Hill). She is also the host of Launch, a TV show which streams on Amazon Fire, AppleTV and Roku (D B TV), and an expert on Quora's Business, Education and Society spaces. Additionally, Charlene teaches business and entrepreneurship courses at UCONN and the University of Alaska, was selected as one of 150 Marketers to Follow by Rubicly, and is featured among other CEOs, influencers and celebrities on the BAM Network.