5 tips to remain stress-free during holidays
What's the story
The holiday season should be a time for peace, joy, and togetherness.
The special moments of simple joy pass right by us because we are too tired or too overwhelmed to be present at the moment.
With all the pending tasks, parties, and food-related holiday traditions, stress can easily take over your mind.
To enjoy your holiday stress-free, adhere to these five tips.
Healthy lifestyle
Maintain healthy habits
Come holidays, come relaxed, chilled days, and loads of delicious food.
With these on the horizon, it's easier to side-track normal healthy eating, drinking, and exercising habits.
Make a pledge to be more active, drink moderately, have a more balanced diet, limit sugar intake and get at least seven hours of sleep each night.
Make an extra effort to stick to these healthy habits.
Move around
Stay active, but not too active
Avoid being too harsh on yourself when you miss a task or miss an exercise session.
Instead, include some healthy activities in your daily routine to compensate for the loss.
Make a decision to stay active even in between the interstices of two tasks.
For example, take a vigorous walk, or move around and do some less important stuff after lunch.
Schedule
Get organized
Holidays mean time off from your work schedule, but it doesn't mean that you compromise with your daily schedule.
Make a to-do list every day, prioritize events and tasks and plan your work with a practical approach.
If you overpromise yourself, that will add to the stress too.
So, strike a balance between setting targets and being realistic while planning your days.
Budget
Set a budget for stress-free holiday shopping
Sometimes holiday shopping can get stressful.
Those alluring sale offers and credit card commercials may convince you to spend more than you can afford.
To avoid overspending, set a budget beforehand.
You may get tempted to spend now to gain some instant gratification, but the credit card debt balance might add to your stress the next month.
Therefore, sticking to a budget is important.
Prioritize
Identify your holiday stressors
Ask yourself, what part of the holidays stresses you out the most?
Is it the shopping, the family gatherings, or hosting the parties?
Figure out what stresses you, and work on minimizing its impact.
If a person in your family stresses you out, limit the time you can spend together whenever possible.
Finally, understand that there is no such thing as a perfect holiday.