Holiday Survival – 3 Steps to Avoid Holiday Stress

The #1 complaint I hear from women about the Holiday Season is the amount of STRESS they feel to GET IT ALL DONE….….AND…….to get it ALL done PERFECTLY!

Well…..let’s just get one of those out of the way right now! There is NO SUCH THING AS THE PERFECT HOLIDAY! PERFECTION does not exist! So STOP stressing yourself out trying to create it! Stuff happens! That’s just how it is and the sooner we realize that the sooner we can move on to ENJOY the Holidays!

What you CAN do instead, is to create your own version of a beautiful –according to you & your family & your priorities- Holiday Season that lines up with your Vision, Values & Time available! That requires some thought & preparation on your part….and some ELIMINATION….but it will ALL be worth it!

You will be able to ENJOY a Beautiful STRESS-LESS Holiday Season!

Today I have some STRESS PREVENTION for you! These are the 3 steps I take every year to ensure that the Holiday Season has LESS STRESS & MORE ENJOYMENT for me & my family! I know that these will work for you because they work for me!

Isn’t it time for you to start ENJOYING rather than ENDURING the Holiday Season? Take a few minutes to read these steps & put them into ACTION……..the results will be worth it! You’ll wonder WHY you didn’t do this sooner!

Kathleen's 3 Action Steps for a Stress-Less Holiday Season

WRITE IT DOWN ~ This is where you do a “brain dump”. WRITE DOWN everything you can possibly think of, large & small, on a piece of paper that you would like to do/get done for the Holiday Season….all those things that keep swirling around in your head…get them on paper…and add to it as you think of things. This could include, but isn’t limited to: decorating, baking, cooking, holiday parties, special events, gift shopping, wrapping, travel, preparing the house for guests, cleaning, etc. This is your Master Holiday List.

DETERMINE THE PURPOSE ~ This is a very important step! This is where you look at WHAT you do for the Holidays and WHY! What is the PURPOSE? For instance, if you attend a family gathering each year and you kind of dread it because of potentially difficult people; you need to determine WHY you keep going? Is there a valid reason? Is it to support another family member? If so, then think about all the ways you can offer support to that person and focus on that alone…..by keeping your purpose for being there front & center, you are less likely to be distracted by other “stuff”!

CREATE A PLAN ~ Now, take that Master Holiday List and begin prioritizing each item into 3 categories:

1) MUST DO/NON-NEGOTIABLE,

2) WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DO, and

3) IT’s OK IF IT DOESN’T GET DONE.

Now put the date it needs to be done by next to each item, starting with the MUST DO category, then the next category , etc. Then get your calendar and begin assigning time frames for each task……breaking larger tasks into smaller more manageable steps. Allow a realistic time frame for completing each task. When it comes to the 3rd category, “It’s OK if it doesn’t get done”, take a good look at that list and determine if anything at all on it needs to be done…if not…ELIMINATE IT!  Just this process alone should have you breathing a BIG sigh of RELIEF. Now you know you’ve got everything written down, you’ve got your purpose in focus and you’ve got a plan!

Don’t you feel better already?!

Even better………I have a gift for you!

Click here to get your FREE MP3 “The 4 P’s to a Stress-Free Holiday” and your Holiday Planner Page template!

Make this your BEST Holiday Season ever!

SPARKLE & SHINE!
Kathleen Ellis

If you found these tips helpful check out The Busy Woman’s Holiday Survival Kit Special Offer here:

holidays.KathleenEllisLifestyleDesign.com

I’d love to hear what tips you have that help you to make your Holiday Season less stressful, please SHARE below!

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