December is easily the Woman’s “Other” Marathon. We didn’t sign up for it got our cute bib and tracker at the race pickup…but we are in it.
The holidays are so much fun…and so much extra work.
This time is so precious. You can easily run out of energy, zest, and enthusiasm if you’re not careful.
Enjoy your marathon, and set yourself up to WIN.
Holiday Extras Become Your Responsibility.
Lots of people want the extras. You know, the beautifully wrapped gift, the home-baked goods, the handcrafted, personalized gift for people on their list.
That’s good. That is not your responsibility to do it all.
Take care of yourself, girl, there are too many other depending on you.
Solution: Get a team. Involve others. Ask for help. Make a signup sheet for work. Let the older kids wrap presents with you… or don’t wrap at all!
Too Much Good Stuff. Everywhere.
In the month when almonds…aren’t healthy almonds, that rich, decadent food can make you miserable.
Too much of anything is just too much. So enjoy the goodies. Just be wise.
Solution: Drink your water. Decide your limits. Get a water tracking app.
Late Nights and Too Many Early Mornings.
Think of all the extra activities. Choir concerts, piano recitals, and performances are found everywhere. And the parties? You’ve got work parties, ugly sweater parties, family parties, church group parties, kid’s parties, and the list goes on.
Oh yeah. And real life needs to keep going on. If you’re not watching it, sleep doesn’t seem to happen in December.
Solution: While it’s easy to say you’re going to bed on time. Set yourself an alarm. Really.
Say no. Even in December.
As a time management strategy, work to say no in December. This is not the time to make a small project into something so BIG. Simple is good. Saying no can be even better sometimes.
Solution: It’s time to focus on what really matters for your holiday.
Plan the Next Thing.
Your mind can trick you. You may think that multi-tasking is helpful. It’s not. If you are at one activity, but completely disengaged with what is happening, you really aren’t there.
Try the 12-Minute List. When you have those tiny pockets of time, write down all of those things you have coming up. The shopping list, the one holiday errand to pick that gift up, the extra phone calls, write all of it down. Then go to the party, the concert, the next thing and be all in. You can completely give of yourself because the worries and stresses are recorded. You’ll get to it.
As we get closer to the actual day, it’s not about writing it down, this exercise becomes my 12-Minute Tiny Tasks. Use those same twelve minutes to do a couple of tiny tasks. In that time, you can write a thank you card, wrap one gift, or start the next load of laundry. This is how you make multitasking work. You focus on the task for a quick couple of minutes then move to the next thing.
Solution: The power of the 12-minute timer can work wonders.
Make Time to Laugh.
With so much going on, the stress can quickly become too much.
Allow yourself time to laugh. Send a gif. Really people watch while you are rushing through the store. (It’s fascinating.)
The power of laughter can dissolve frustration away.
Solution: Let yourself be in the moment.
Run your race and enjoy it.
