How to have a stress-free Christmas at work and home? Answer: Plan early.
'Tis the season to be jolly, yet for many, especially women business leaders, the build up to the holidays can sometimes feel like a whirlwind of stress and chaos. According to a YouGov study, 51% of women confessed they found the Christmas period to be stressful. By comparison, just 35% of men felt the same way.
So, why is this?
Women, by and large, tend to take up the reins of Christmas activities in their homes. Whether it's societal expectations, a deep-seated desire to create Yuletide magic for their families or both, the fact remains: in general women are often the ones to bear the weight of holiday stress like a sack of coal.
So, as the December calendar fills and the end of year deadlines loom, how do you achieve success without stress at work, and also at home, leading up to the festive break?
How to have a stress-free Christmas at work
December is a shortened working month for many, with schools closing their doors and out-of-office alerts popping up as early as Friday 13th this year. For some that means there will be 10 working days remaining for 2023 once December arrives.
If cramming in urgent meetings and feverishly coordinating conflicting schedules before annual leave kicks in doesn’t exactly fill you with seasonal cheer, planning ahead is essential.
Here are some thoughts about managing seasonal stress at work:
Plan your exit now: Create a mini exit plan – the exit being the date you intend to leave the office for the holidays. Plot it in the calendar early and make everyone aware of it.
Intentional prioritisation: Decide on the non-negotiable end-of-year deliverables, agree them with the team and focus ruthlessly on those, without letting other things distract you.
Prevent burnout before EOY: To avoid burnout, allocate your energy carefully. Alongside your work and home priorities, remember to look after yourself and build in regular brief moments to detach from work, such as taking a walk to replenish your mental reserves. Be deliberate in the things you say ‘yes’ to (and say ‘no’ wherever you can).
Cultivate calm: Calmness is infectious and brings so many benefits, so be the one to demonstrate it when all around you are in a frenzy, and don’t allow last-minute demands overwhelm you.
Celebrate the small victories: Acknowledging your achievements (both small and big) will re-energise your team so they, too, can reach the finish line in one piece. This is the time for kindness, recognition and reward.
How to have a stress-free Christmas at home
Meanwhile, on the home front, expectations around Christmas are heightened, and the tinsel-topped stress accompanying them can seem harder to control, though that doesn’t mean that planning and preparation aren’t possible.
Here are some suggestions for managing the stress of the festive season at home:
Plan now: It’s all in the planning. Do you have all the school dates and children’s end-of-term activities plotted in a shared household calendar? Firm up dates with Christmas visitors and use the time now to figure out how you will entertain them.
Downsize: Christmas has a habit of spiralling out of control – both in expense and complexity. Have a family powwow about how you’ll simplify this year.
Build in downtime: Protect some days in the holiday calendar that are just for you with nothing planned. Knowing these days are there, as islands of calm, will provide relief in the run-up.
Don’t be afraid to say no: Family and social obligations can be a minefield at this time of year. If you always cook lunch for 14 people on the 25th, consider politely opting out this year.
Do something good: It’s well known that acts of kindness are a win-win – they make you feel just as good as (if not more) than the beneficiary. The festive season brings a myriad of options for volunteering, donating, or just to show a simple act of kindness to a neighbour. If you’ve been putting it off til later, now is the perfect time of year.
Go stress-free this Christmas
If you have 1000 things to do before the end of the year but are stuck in back-to-back meetings until then, hand over the 999 things that are creating noise to the Consider it Done team, so that you can focus on the one thing you really need to do.