By: Lauren Millard
It’s that time of year again! The holidays are here and as much as we love the food, festivities, and spending time with the ones we love, let’s just be honest for a second and say, the holidays are stressful. As if you weren’t busy enough going about your normal day to day tasks, let’s go ahead and add sending out holiday cards, buying presents, traveling, and going to 8 different holiday parties to your running to do list that is already a mile long. On top of all of that, just consider the amount of work that is piling up while you’re out of town eating your fill of turkey and apple pie. How in the world are you supposed to enjoy this amazing time of the year that you spend with family and friends? Here are some tips you can use this holiday season to try and find that balance between your work life and your personal life.
- CLOCK OUT: As much as your boss loves your work ethic, they don’t love burnt out employees. Don’t stress yourself out by staying late to finish up “this one last thing”. Staying late can throw off your whole night and put you in a mad dash for dinner and things on your personal “to do” list. So just this once, when it hits 5 o’clock, clock out and start working on your personal agenda.
- DON’T SPREAD YOURSELF THIN: All of your friends are throwing holiday parties, so I need to… right? WRONG! If all of your friends are throwing them, then you’re probably going to throw a party with all the same people there. It’s unnecessary… not to mention expensive. Let your friend throw the party. It is really easy during the holidays to overcommit yourself. Be careful what you say “yes” to. If you’re finding you’re saying “yes” and inside you’re really wishing you didn’t, then do yourself a favor and say NO! It’s okay to say no.
- STOP WORRYING: While you’re off for the holidays or traveling, stop worrying about what is waiting for you when you get back to work. Enjoy the time you have with your family. Worrying isn’t going to change a thing, so just let yourself enjoy the day and deal with the work when you get back!
- Last but not least, HAVE FUN: All work and no play leads to exhaustion! Have fun and use this time to recharge your batteries! You’ll be glad you did come Monday morning when it’s time to hit that 9-5 again.
I know this time of year comes at the same time every year, and we have a calendar that tells us when it’s coming. Don’t let the holidays take you by surprise and increase your stress. Take a second to look around and enjoy each blessing in your life. Give thanks, have fun, and spend time with the ones you love.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
