Let’s talk about self-care during the holiday season! Commercials show the magic of the holidays through a glow in a child’s eye and the beautiful blankets of snow on the ground. That all sounds blissful right? What those commercials don’t show is the hustle, the bustle, and the 2000 events you must attend within one month! How can we slow down during the holidays to actually enjoy them? How do we practice self-care during the busiest time of the year?
5 Ways To Practice Self-Care During The Holidays
Set Boundaries.
I know this is a tough one, especially during the holiday season. You’re supposed to be everywhere with everyone, and if you’re not, someone is going to get offended surely. Listen, we have to stop this cycle! We have to give ourselves some grace and realize that we are running ourselves into the ground.
I was blessed with a big blended family as a child, which meant 3 – 4 sets of grandparents to visit, two parent’s houses, and probably another stop or two along the way. Even as a kid, it was exhausting! As an adult, I put my foot down to this, especially once we had kids. This is not realistic folks or good for anyone’s energy!
I teach on this blog to set personal and spiritual boundaries. Now, during the holidays, we have to learn to set boundaries by politely declining and NOT feeling bad about it!
You have things to do too. With the little bit of downtime that you do have, you GET to spend some of it relaxing with the people that you love most. Set boundaries, say no, and don’t feel bad about it!
Prioritize
You know I am all about some self-love, which includes a little self-discipline! Around the holidays, we have a tendency to get derailed from our typical routines, which we as humans thrive off of! Don’t let the holidays break that cycle for you!
Wake up at the same time (or an hour earlier) and get your sh*t done so that you can spend quality time doing all the holiday things. Doing this will allow you to enjoy making those cookies and wrapping those presents instead of turning it into a chore because you’ve created space for it!
Another thing to think about it “batching” your work! Can you do all of the housework and grocery shopping on a Tuesday so that Wednesday you get to enjoy some downtime? Often times just a little bit of rearranging our schedules creates the time we didn’t think we had! I teach a great morning and productivity routine to my coaching clients! One coaching client went from never having enough time to having all day on Friday to herself!
Acknowledge yourself
We do so much around the holidays ( well every day really) that we get set on autopilot. In addition, to go go going we get mad at ourselves for taking a break or not completing our tasks. This is crazy talk. We work ourselves to the brink of exhaustion and then beat ourselves up for not accomplishing more. Let’s break this cycle!
During the holidays, our list grows leaps and bounds, and somehow, we manage to get most of the things done. Acknowledge this!
Tell yourself you’re doing a good job!
Remind yourself that you’re one person and you’re doing your best
Give yourself permission to not have to be “perfect.”
Remind yourself that the holidays are about love and ask to see the holidays through the eyes of your higher self. Trust me, your perspective of yourself and the season will change almost instantly.
Tell yourself, thank you for all that you do and then reward yourself!
Give to yourself!
What is something you have wanted to do, but you haven’t in a long time? Give yourself permission to slow down and do that thing!
Have you scheduled in time for yourself on that overloaded google calendar? No? Well, do it! Give yourself an hour each day for you to read, take a course, go for a walk, or just rest!
Take yourself shopping! Listen, Linda, all of those gifts your giving or experiences you’re handing out are kind. They hopefully are coming from a place of love and authenticity. The thing is darlin’, what about you? Can you stop and get yourself a fancy coffee or that cute sweater you’ve been eye ballin’?
Give to yourself to care for yourself! Give yourself time, love, gifts, whatever it is that YOU need!
Schedule that downtime
We all need time to rest, not only our body but our mind and our soul. For many parents, this means forcing yourself to stay up and hour late to squeeze in that one show or veg out in silence after the kids go to bed. This isn’t what I’m talking about here. I mean, literally, schedule your downtime.
Wake up early
Make a vision board
Get your body moving
Write your intentions for today
Drink a HOT cup of coffee to the bottom of the cup!
Just find some time for yourself and remember the holidays are about love and kindness, not gifts and cranberry sauce! You’ve got this! Self-care is now on the books. Take charge and make this season one to remember!
With love and happy holidays, Ashley strong
