It’s the end of the year, and the season of get-togethers, celebration and gifts.
As moms, we bear most of the cognitive and emotional load of planning for this time.
Here are 3 ways to manage the mental load of this holiday season, so that we can stay mindful of what matters to us, and be fully present with our family.
1. Delegate holiday prep
Delegating may not come naturally to many of us.
Or we might feel that others are too busy to help. But you never know – people around you might just be waiting to be asked!
If you’re still getting the hang of delegating, for every task, ask yourself two questions:
A) Does this work actually need to be done?
If it doesn’t have to be done right away, move it to another day. Or you might even decide to remove it from your list.
B) Am I the only one that can do this work?
Delegating means trusting someone else to do a job, and being flexible about how it gets done.
Involve the kids in the prep – they can help with packing and mailing the holiday cards, cleaning the house or with the Christmas decorations.
2. Don’t “outdo” yourself
We’ve had our share of long nights and longer days, so powering through the holiday season might feel like a good idea.
Before that, ask yourself – isn’t being present with your family more important than doing everything perfectly?
Choose the things that you want to do, and set limits for them.
Doing as much as you can with joy embodies the spirit of the season more than anything else.
One way to set limits on what you can do is saying no to things that you feel are unnecessary now, even if you’ve done them in the past.
3. Plug self-care into your days
It might be hard to get stretches of time to relax, but you can still do things that you love, even if it’s for 5 or 10 minutes everyday.
Get some fresh air by going for a walk or a casual stroll, soak in the bath, take a short nap, or indulge in one of your hobbies.
It will lift your mood, and re-energize you so that you can pour yourself back into things.
Sometimes, making time for yourself can mean saying “no”.
Canceling or saying “no thank you” to what doesn’t bring comfort or joy may be hard, but doing so creates space to say “yes” to what does.
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