5 Practical Strategies to Manage Stress & Avoid Burnout During the Busiest Time of the Year
The holiday season may be referred to as “the most wonderful time of the year,” but it’s also the busiest and most overwhelming time of the year for many of us entrepreneurs.
If your energy is waning and you’re struggling to get into that holly-jolly spirit, it’s time to take a step back, take a breath, and reassess before the fun times pass you by.
In today’s new post, I’m sharing 5 quick & constructive tips to help ground you and release the pressure of the holiday season.
Read on to reset your frequency and get yourself into an energetic space that allows you to actually enjoy the holidays and enter the new year with fresh vibes.
Enter: The Most Stressful Time of the Year
Because I'm a pretty empathetic person, I’ve been feeling the stress and anxiety that is often in the air around the holiday season. It can be a pretty busy and intense time for anybody, let alone for entrepreneurs, because there's the pressure of meeting your end-of-year goals while also managing the demands of the holiday season. Let's be frank - buying gifts, making sure that your house is in order, preparing for company, cooking, baking, and having kids out of school can be pretty overwhelming.
I thought it would be useful to take a few minutes to talk to you about some strategies that I use to both manage stress and avoid burnout during this busy time of year.
5 Practical Strategies to Manage Holiday Stress & Avoid Burnout
- Review your goals and expectations and bring them back to reality.
This goes above anything else, because you can do all the other things that I'm about to tell you, but if you don't do this one thing, then none of the other things will really matter.
If you are trying to do a billion more things before the end of the year, then I challenge you to take a step back, take a breather, and really ask yourself, Is this realistic? Or are you just rushing to achieve it so that you can say you did it in 2022? Are you actually achieving this in the best way possible? As high achievers, we often put too many things on our lists and set the bar too high, which leads to failure and disappointment.
If you bring your goals and expectations back down to reality, then you give yourself space to actually take care of yourself during this stressful time of year.
- Take breaks and prioritize self care.
Make sure you carve out time for yourself.
Self care isn't just bubble baths and meditation. Think about what restores you, mentally and physically, and make time for those things.
For me, waking up to take a tennis lesson was self care today. It creates focus, allows me to be present in the moment, gets me Vitamin D in the sunshine, and gets me exercise. Making time for tennis makes me feel great.
Your thing may not be tennis; maybe your thing is getting enough sleep, or cold plunging, or time to read in a quiet space. Whatever it is, make it a priority. Renew your resources as often as you need.
- Look at your (now realistic) goals and ask yourself, What can I delegate?
Where can you ask for help? I find that so many people I work with hate asking for help. I don't know if it's because you feel like it makes you less of a person, or it makes the accomplishment less of an accomplishment if you've gotten help, but the truth is, when you ask for help in the areas that you really need help, then you can spend more time on higher level tasks.
It doesn't just have to be business help. It could be help with general life tasks, too. Be open to assistance.
- Set boundaries.
It is okay to say no. If you're a yes person, please realize that every time you say yes to something, you're also saying no to something else.
By saying yes to doing something for someone else, you're also saying no to yourself. Resist the urge to say yes just because it’s easier. Be deliberate with your decisions, particularly this time of year with your time. Every time you're asked if you want to go somewhere or do something, actually ask yourself if you want to do it. If not, saying no will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed or burnt out due to being overcommitted to things you’re dreading.
- Practice gratitude.
Really focus on the things that you're grateful for. Because when you do that, it will help you shift your perspective. It'll help you reduce stress, and it'll help you really reflect on the positive aspects of your life.
You can also take your gratitude practice deeper by expressing gratitude to the people in your life. Think about who makes a difference in your life, who you love, who you appreciate - everyone from family, friends, to clients and colleagues. When you express that gratitude, they'll feel good, and you'll feel even better.
Ending the year on a high note
Right now, I want you to take some time for yourself. Really get yourself into a great place to come into the new year by grounding yourself and enjoying this holiday season. Enjoy this time, because it's not going to come around again for another year. So really take the time to focus on yourself, your family, and your well being. Enjoy those around you so that you can come back for the new year feeling fresh, grounded, and ready to have your best year yet.
Wishing you a Happy New Year - here’s to activating your success frequency!
