4 Holiday Hacks to Reduce Stress

(2 minute read time)

In my Gratitude 2.0 post, I shared how much I love Thanksgiving but after that things tend to get hairy….  I keep thinking about how much I have to do. There are all of the regular To-Do’s plus all of the holiday stuff.  It’s easy to get more than a little stressed about it.

Can you relate?

Here are 4 quick tips to help….

1. Recognize that a list of things To-Do does not have the ability to stress you out.  A list of things to accomplish is just a list. It has no power. Until you judge it.  If look at our list and think “Ugh, there’s just so much to do” now we have stress. Your list is just a list.  How do you WANT to think about it?                                                                                       
2. Treat your To-Do’s as something you GET to do not something you MUST do.  “I get to find the perfect present for my sister” feels way better than “I have to….”     
3. Decide how you want to feel and create that feeling – Stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted is probably not what you’d pick.  Me neither. This year, I am purposefully generating the emotions I want – joy, appreciation, peace, presence. I am playing Christmas music much more this year than ever before!  I am delighting in wearing a scarf and drinking a hot cup of coffee on cold days. I make it a point to notice and appreciate the holiday decorations all around. Think about how you can create what you want to feel.                       
4. Make it manageable.  As the old saying goes “How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time”. I love asking myself “If I could only do one or two things for the holidays today, what would they be?”.   That’s much more compelling than thinking “I will never get to all of this”.

What else works for you this time of year?  We all appreciate a good holiday hack, share yours in the comments below!