The holidays are always such a crazy time. Not only are you having to wrap up quarter four of your work, you are dealing with family members needs, traveling, holiday parties, outfits, gifts, spending all of your money and trying to stay healthy all at the same time. How do we survive?
I personally feel that Roman has been my life’s greatest uplevel. Since his arrival in my life, I have become more efficient, more effective, more focused and somehow I have more energy. Perhaps it’s all the coffee. ;) I have become really organized this time of year, too. I think somehow when you become a mom, you are also naturally given Wonder Woman super powers. To all my moms out there, you are amazing!!! We have shopping season, Christmas and then New Years. For us, we have my birthday and Jareds birthday in early January too. Which means lots of traveling, planning and shopping! It’s never a good idea (especially with a baby) to have to run around grabbing this here and there last minute. As we get closer and closer to the end of the year it begins to feel overwhelming for everyone. So, before you find yourself in overwhelm and exhaustion, get yourself on track with a few tips that have been essential for saving my sanity this year…
Lists! Oh how I love a list. I have been using my beautiful planner to keep track of all my lists. I also have these lists on my Google Keep App (this app is literally life changing). Writing things down is always helpful but during this time of year I find it to be essential. Here are my current lists and why they are helping me:
EVENTS: I also like to note what parties or events I plan on attending, so that I can strategize outfits and potential things I need to bring. When you have this all written down and planned for, it saves you time and mental energy that you really need to keep on other things.
THINGS TO BUY (GIFTS): I always note the things I need to purchase because that is always sitting in the back of the mind and quite frankly, I need that mental space for other things. I make a list of who I need to get a gift for and a few ideas for what I would want to gift them. It’s so helpful when I can whip this list out every time I go shopping or into a store. This helps me stay efficient and organized, instead of having you running all over town last minute looking for an item or a gift.
RECIPES: This is always an important list, especially if you plan when you go grocery shopping on Sunday. That’s when I like to do it. Mondays are better if you want to stay away from the crowds. If you are planning on bringing anything to holiday parties or for Christmas, write down all the things you are cooking and what you might need to bring with you. This list is one of my favorites because pretty things in the kitchen make me happy. I just ordered this pretty bundt cake holder for one of my favorite recipes.
Calendar everything! I’m always big on calendars and writing down absolutely everything. It serves as a personal assistant keeping you on track of how you are allocating your time and how to make the most of it. That way you aren’t like a chicken running around with your head cut off. Yesterday we went to get a couples massage and the technician told both of us how we should probably book the next session in advance because the holiday season is their busiest time. Obviously our calendar is our biggest asset because we have to find time between all the other things going on to remember to get in our self care. That massage was life changing for both of us.
It’s important to get really specific in your planner around this time. Schedule in all the things you need like traveling prep, time for shopping, self care (like massages or acupuncture), phone calls you need to make. I really believe in the importance of time batching and using your calendar for EVERYTHING! I cannot stress this enough.
Create a (holiday) budget. Or a budget for every area of your life. This is a super important tip because we really can over extend ourselves especially during this time of year. Frivolous spending is not a good look and its especially not a good way to start out for 2019. So be sure you are noting what you are spending and what is it for. You can put spending into categories, (gifts, traveling, outfits, food & drink, personal care, etc.) Whatever your needs are will work for you but if you give yourself an ideal budget, you are more likely to stick to something close to it. As a designer, I have experienced that most people will go outside of their intended budget, so give yourself some wiggle room but things always work out more effectively if you begin with a set budget in mind. That way you won’t be out of money by New Years. I found this list to be very helpful for the holidays. I keep my budget in my LV planner these days and I really love it because keeping records of your spending or saving really can help your long term life goals.
Personal Care. Self care is the key to success. This is my mantra. Make sure you are taking time for yourself to just breathe. It’s so important that during this hectic time of year we really prioritize our personal care so we aren’t exhausted by the last week of December. My goal: 30 minutes of exercise a day. I’ll probably just find ways to stroll Roman around town in all honesty. It’s just so important to your sanity that you get fresh air and physical activity that keeps your blood flowing and energy up! I also have scheduled in time for mani/pedis, massage and root touch up for my hair. You want to feel put together and fabulous for all your holiday parties, no?
Prepare for stress & anxiety. Have you listened to episode #3 of my podcast yet? This is very helpful for making sure you have control on stress & anxiety in your life. I can’t tell you how debilitating it is to find yourself in the middle of an anxiety attack and try to calm down. It’s really important to mentally prepare yourself with tools for handling overwhelming times. During the holidays that can be anything like family, co-workers or when things just don’t end up going your way (have you seen the movie Christmas Vacation?). In life things are always going to play out differently than our ideal, so ahead of time put in place a ritual for how to deal when you are hit with stress and anxiety.
Visualize your next uplevel. This is one of my favorite things to do that keeps me lit up and excited for what’s next. Of course you have to take into consideration the importance of being in the moment, it is a very mindful and positive way of living. You also must get excited for the next and the new. When you are hopeful and living in a joyful expectation, it makes the day to day grind seem much more exciting. When you are thoughtfully prepared for your next uplevel, you are dialed into how to spend your days. For me, I like to grab a big sheet of paper, poster boards are my favorite, and map out my next few months. I write everything down that I want to see happen (big goals) and then I break down action steps with the bubble chart system. You can do this along with your vision board, to map out exactly how you will achieve your goals. This will revolutionize the way you live. When you can see everything clearly mapped out, you will feel so organized in your mind. You will actually begin to see yourself moving towards success in life with more ease. I promise.
