The 4 Mistakes to Avoid this Holiday Season for Busy, Working Moms
Not to scare you, but this Friday we'll be turning the page on our calendars and kicking off the last two months of the year (or holiday season, as I call it)!
With so much coming at us - events, celebrations, activities, and more - I wanted to be proactive this week and share with you the 4 most common mistakes that I see working moms make during the holiday season.
My hope is that knowing what to watch out for will help save you so much time, energy, and even some disappointment along the way.
So, if you want to flag this post to revisit it over the next couple months or jot down some notes on a post-it to keep near your calendar, go ahead and do that now.
Because trust me, when things get busy and you're trying to do a dozen things at once, it'll be easy to forget and default into your old ways. Avoiding these mistakes is about doing things differently this season so that you can be more relaxed and calm amidst the chaos.
Here are the mistakes to avoid:
#1 - Responding Without Pausing First
Pausing before you respond gives you the space and the chance to consider whether or not:
This fits into your schedule
You have the time and energy
You have enough information to make a decision
You even want to do this thing
When you don't pause to consider, you end up responding with whatever your default response is. If you tend to say yes, you'll probably say yes. If you tend to say no, you'll probably say no. Maybe that's the right answer in this situation, but maybe not.
And what usually happens is that you won't even realize what you actually wanted until you're doing or not doing the thing. Wouldn't it feel so much better to have checked in and heard your true choice before moving forward with a default response?
That's the power of the pause. It works all year round, but especially this time of year when decision fatigue is real!
#2 - Not Having an Intention for the Season
In order to know whether or not you should say yes to that invite or project or commitment, you have to know what you want.
What kind of season do you want to experience for yourself, with your partner, and with your family?
What memories are you trying to create?
How do you want the season to feel?
Your intention is your litmus test. Without it you'll just be guessing at what you "should" do.
This is the first thing we do in the Stress Less This Holiday workshop. Your intention is your North Star that helps you ask for what you want, schedule what aligns, and decline what doesn't.
#3 - Reinventing the Wheel
Everything that you do this season, doesn't have to be new and exciting. Save yourself time and energy by creating a process or a template for the things that work so you're not reinventing the wheel on everything.
With every holiday season, I get better and better at knowing what works. Just like I am better at surviving Maycember now than I was a year ago and I'm a better parent today than I was last month.
The trick is to repeat what works. So, for the holidays that might mean:
Celebrating with one side of the family on the same weekend each year. Or
Stuffing stockings with the same types of items each year (chocolate, chapstick, a pair of socks, and a toothbrush!)
Gifting teachers a gift card and a hand-written note
With a repeatable process in place, you can just do the thing that works and free up capacity, in your schedule and your mind, for the fun things that you want to change up or try new!
#4 - Letting Go of Your Healthy Habits
Your healthy habits are your minimum baseline things you do that help you have the energy and feel good doing all the things you need to do.
As your plate gets full, and even over-loaded, this time of year, the first thing to go are all of those little things that we tell ourselves don't matter, but really make all the difference.
For me these next two months, it's going to be more important than ever that I go to sleep at a reasonable time and not staying up taking care of tasks or reading. I'm going to need plenty of water, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, my supplements (hello, Vitamin D), my daily walks, and time with my friends and my husband.
When you let go of your healthy habits, not only are you still doing all of this extra stuff this time of year, you're doing it from a deficit. You're operating with a battery that's running out of juice! And everything feels harder from that place.
So, as you create your plan for the holidays, how can you make sure those healthy habits are a priority alongside the things you want to do to make this season magical or fun or joyful or relaxed?
Haven’t thought about your holiday plan?
I want to invite you to Stress Less This Holiday! Join us for 90 minutes of focused, planning time where I'll walk you through setting your intention, identifying your priorities, looking at the calendar, and finally putting it all together into a plan that makes it easy for you to just go take care of business.